


A New Life

by honour632



Category: iCarly
Genre: Blood, F/M, Romance, Vampires
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:07:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 81,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23114431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honour632/pseuds/honour632
Summary: Freddie was walking down the street when he was attacked and left to die in the street. That is until a creature he thought was a myth came to his rescue. Can Freddie live his life pretending to be normal or will his new secret life catch up to him?
Relationships: Freddie Benson/Sam Puckett
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this story several years ago on fanfiction and i decided to post it over here as well finally. I hope that it isn't too bad. Again i wrote this a few years ago. Please try to enjoy haha.

The pain running through his stomach forced him to his knees, his screams held back as the three adults ran to his side. The smell of blood filled the air as the boy was laid on his back, the blood coming out of his stomach and staining his shirt alarmingly fast. The pain kept getting more and more intense and soon, the world started to blur.

“Stay with us kid.” A man said, his voice sounding distant. He felt his eyes droop, but he forced his eyes to stay open, a woman sobbing next to him, lifting him up slightly and making him gasp in pain.

“This might hurt.” A second man said and then he leant down to the boy’s throat, his eyes glowing red.

***************************Earlier that day******************************

17 year old Freddie stood in front of his mirror having just done his teeth and hair. He was taking as long as he could before facing the mess that was his mother.

“Fredward, hurry up. I would like to see you before you before I leave.” His mother yelled into his room and he groaned. He then looked at his appearance once more and sighed before walking out of his bathroom into his room. He was wearing a long sleeved grey shirt with black jeans and black Chuck Taylors. As he was leaving his room, he grabbed his phone and wallet and put them in his pocket.

“There you are. Now I have to go to work so I’ll call to check up on you when I get there.” Marisa said.

“I’m 16 years old. I don’t need to be constantly checked.” Freddie groaned.

“Excuse me, but you are a young boy who is still growing and i- where are you going?” Marisa asked as Freddie walked out of the apartment.

“Away from you.” Freddie called back, entering the Shay’s apartment and closing the door, sighing in relief.

“Hey Freddillina.” Sam said when she saw him, her sitting on the couch watching TV.

“Hello Princess Puckett. Where’s Carly?” Freddie asked.

“Shower. Hey, go get me some ham.” Sam said. Sam was wearing a long sleeved green shirt with faded blue jeans with her purple converses. Her golden hair was down as it normally was and she was wearing a small amount of makeup.

“Never gonna happen.” Freddie replied.

“I will throw this remote and it will be to a place that it hurts.” Sam said and Freddie shrugged, going over to the kitchen and getting himself a bottle of water.

“Oh. When did you get here Freddie?” Carly asked Freddie when she came downstairs a minute later.

“About a minute ago. Why are you dressed all snazzy?” Freddie asked. Carly was wearing a frilly white sleeveless shirt with dark blue jeans, a pair of silver flats on and her hair down with her fringe pinned back, her face all dolled up.

“Because she has a date with some guy named Brian. They’re going out for breakfast in 10 minutes.” Sam said as she walked into the kitchen and got herself the ham out of the fridge.

“Ten minutes? Oh no. I thought I had longer than that. How do I look? Oh no. I look terrible don’t I?” Carly asked as someone knocked on the door.

“Carly, take a deep breath and then go and get the door. If it’s Brian, say hello and then go. If it’s my mum, close the door quickly and I’ll run out the back.” Freddie said.

“Why are you hiding from your mother?” Sam asked as Carly went and got the door.

“She keeps asking questions about how I’m feeling since my dad’s accident and I don’t really want to be near her right now. It’s really uncomfortable.” Freddie replied.

“How are you feeling about that?” Sam asked softly, but Freddie didn’t have to answer because Sam understood by the look on his face.

“Hi Brian.” Carly said and Sam and Freddie turned their heads to see a boy with brown hair wearing a black jacket, a dark green shirt, dark jeans and black Nike high top shoes.

“Have fun.” Sam called out as Brian and Carly left and when the front door was closed, Freddie smiled at Sam and took the ham.

“I’ll make you a sandwich so that you can enjoy the ham and cheese together.” Freddie said, seeing the block of cheese on the bench in front of Sam who smiled and pushed it towards him.

“How long has it been since the accident?” Sam asked him as he got the bread, butter, lettuce, tomato and a butter knife and a cutting knife.

“5 months.” Freddie replied as he started to make the sandwich.

“And they still haven’t found your aunt?” Sam asked and Freddie shook his head.

“I still can’t believe that she escaped the car. Especially considering the way it was and how much blood she lost.” Freddie said.

“Have you got any more calls from her or those two guys that she told you about? You know, the ones she said saved her?” Sam asked.

“No, but I got another email from another family member. They still send me sympathy emails. I just want to forget all about it.” Freddie said.

“Freddie, you saw it happen. They just want to make sure that you’re okay.” Sam said.

“I know, but I wish they would stop treating me like a glass doll. When anyone tries to talk about it, they choose their words carefully and don’t bring up my missing aunt or that it was a car crash or anything. They just say something about ‘a terrible accident’ and I am kind of getting annoyed. But don’t say that to Carly. She would only start crying again.” Freddie said.

“Don’t worry Benson. You’re secrets safe with me.” Sam said and Freddie smiled. After Freddie had witnessed a semi-truck slamming into his father’s car which had his dad and his dad’s sister in it, Sam, who had also seen it happen, was the first person to comfort him and she told him straight out that she had heard his aunt had somehow disappeared from the car right after the accident. Ever since then, the two had been getting closer and even though they still fought a lot, everyone could see that they were best friends.

“So what are you doing tonight Benson?” Sam asked after a few seconds.

“Nothing really.” Freddie replied as he put the top piece of bread on the sandwich and then cut it in half, putting it on a plate and then giving it to Sam. Sam smiled and took it as he started to clean up.

“Well, why don’t you and I go to the movies?” Sam asked.

“I’d love to, but I kind of just need some time alone. I mean, I’ve had a lot of people around me lately. But I promise tomorrow night.” Freddie replied and Sam smiled.

“Okay. Well, until then, I have dibs on the TV.” Sam said and Freddie chuckled as she took a bite of her sandwich. She then walked over to the couch and sat down. She then looked back at Freddie and saw a small smile on his face which made her smile. He hadn’t smiled in a while, well, not really smiled anyway. It was always fake when he was trying to be polite but really wanted to be left alone. Sighing, Sam bit into her sandwich and then turned back to the TV. One day, the old Freddie would be fully back and Sam could tell that that day would be close.

For the rest of the day, after Carly had come home from her date with a sad look and with butter in her hair, Sam, Carly and Freddie sat on the couch and watched TV, none of them really wanting to do anything. Freddie was glad that Carly didn’t ask him how he was which she usually did whenever she saw him. Either she knew it annoyed him or she could sense his good mood and didn’t want to ruin it. Either way, he was thankful for her leaving him alone.

When 9pm came around, Freddie sighed and then groaned as he stood up.

“I’m going to go for a walk. I’ll catch you guys later.” Freddie said as he made his way to the door.

“Do you want some company?” Carly asked.

“Nah. I’ll speak to you guys in the morning.” Freddie replied. Sam and Carly nodded and watched as he left.

“Do you think he’s really alright to be alone?” Carly asked.

“He needs some space. It’s been 5 months since the car crash and he hasn’t had one moment alone. His mum won’t even leave him alone.” Sam said and Carly sighed. She knew Sam was right. He needed space and that was that. But what if he needed just one person there with him? What if he really wasn’t okay?

Several minutes later and down in the streets, Freddie was walking, barely paying attention to where he was going. The one thing he was trying not to think about kept coming to his mind and soon he had to stop and lean against a wall as the memory flooded his thoughts.

(Flashback)

“Do you really have to go so soon?” Freddie asked his aunt as he hugged her.

“Yes baby. But don’t worry. We’ll call you as soon as you get home.” She said. Freddie nodded and then after a brief hug with his dad, Freddie stepped back and stood next to Sam who had gotten to know Freddie’s aunt pretty well.

“Well, have a good trip.” Freddie said as they got in the car.

“Will do kid. Don’t worry. We’ll be back to visit soon.” His dad said and Freddie smiled. His dad and aunt then drove away and Sam and Freddie waved goodbye.

“Alright. Let’s go and get smoothies or something.” Sam said, turning around and beginning to walk away. Just as Freddie was about to turn around however, a semi-truck veered onto his dad’s side of the road and slammed right into the front of his car with a great force. A loud scream filled the air and loud banging sounds filled the air.

Freddie’s world froze for a moment before he went to take off towards the car only to have Sam hold him back.

“Freddie, you’ll only hurt yourself.” Sam said.

“That’s my family.” Freddie yelled, turning to face her. Sam just looked out at him and he took one more look at the car before breaking down into tears. Sam wrapped her arms around him as he started to lose his balance, Spencer and Lewbert running outside, shocked at what they found.

(End of Flashback)

Freddie took a deep breath, willing the memory from his brain as another one filled his head.

(Flashback)

Freddie was standing with Sam, Carly, Marisa and Spencer and he was still crying, everyone else as well, when an officer came up to them.

“Sir, are you sure that there was 2 people in the car?” The woman asked.

“Yes. I saw them both get in.” Sam said.

“What kind of question is that?” Freddie asked, anger in his voice at the stupid question.

“If there was 2 bodies that means we have a missing body.” The officer said and everyone stared at her in shock.

“What?” Marisa asked.

“Your aunt is missing.” The officer said, staring directly at Freddie and he stared in shock. How could this be happening?

(End of Flashback)

Taking a long, deep and shaky breath, Freddie managed to push the thoughts of that night out of his head and he stood up properly, beginning to walk again. He then started to think about the next ICarly that they had been planning. He soon forgot all about the accident and was focusing on whether or not they really should do Messin’ With Lewbert, not sure if they should hold off until the week after.

After a good 20 minutes of walking, Freddie decided he wanted to go back, but that’s when he had a weird feeling as if he was being watched. He didn’t know where the feeling had come from, but it was starting to freak him out. He quickened his pace and was almost at the street of Bushwell Plaza when a creepy old man stopped him by grabbing his arm and slamming him into the wall.

“What the-.“ Freddie went to ask, but the man punched him in the face. The man took advantage of Freddie’s shock and attacked him. The second Freddie started to fight back however, the man pulled out a knife and threw it at Freddie, hitting him straight in the stomach. The man smugly smiled and went to take Freddie’s wallet when a hand grabbed his shoulder and forced him to turn around.

“How dare you mess with my nephew.” A woman growled and one of the 2 men that was with her twisted the old man neck, snapping it. The man fell to the floor and the three adults stared at him until they heard the clattering of metal on the ground. The woman and 2 men looked towards Freddie to see him fall to his knees, his hand over his stomach which was badly bleeding. The three adults ran over to him as he fell to the ground and one of the men, the one that had snapped the neck, turned him onto his back, the blood quickly staining his shirt.

“C-Cassie?” Freddie asked when he looked up to see his aunt.

“Hey baby. You’re going to be alright.” Cassie said as tears ran down her face, but Freddie just made his hands into fists as pain radiated through his body.

“We have to get him back to the cabin.” The neck snapper said.

“He won’t make it there Pete. He’ll die by the time we get there.” Cassie replied.

“We can’t turn him in the middle of the street. What if we get caught?” Pete asked.

“We don’t have a choice. I can’t lose Freddie too and his mother can’t either.” Cassie said, tears pouring now. The second man was staring at Freddie and, after a deep log breath and look at him, he leant forward and over the boy.

“This might hurt kid.” He said and Freddie saw the man’s eyes go bright red just as the world turned to black.


	2. Chapter 2

All he could feel was pain. The most agonising pain ran through his stomach, centred near his hip. He knew in the back of his foggy mind why he felt this pain, but as he could barely think and his body wasn’t responding to his demands, he couldn’t do anything about it. As the pain go worse, the foggier his brain got and the more distant he felt with his body. Soon, he felt so disconnected that he imagined he was in the ICarly studio wearing the clothes he had been wearing the day he and Sam had almost broken up after the NERD camp thing.

“What am I doing here?” Freddie asked himself, not expecting an answer. But when one came, he was surprised.

“You know, talking to yourself is the first sign of crazy.” Came Sam’s voice and he turned around to see Sam sitting on the hood of the car.

“Am I dreaming?” Freddie asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe.” Sam replied. She was also wearing the same clothes she had been wearing that day and she was holding the blue remote.

“I wish I could stay in dream land. I wouldn’t have to face what is out there.” Freddie said and Sam smiled, sliding off the hood of the car and walking over to him.

“What fun would that be? There wouldn’t be any adventure anywhere then and you wouldn’t get to resolve any issues that you have. Like the one where you go back to life.” Sam said.

“How do I know that this is a dream?” Freddie asked.

“Because once you close your eyes, you can go anywhere and have anyone with you.” Sam replied. Freddie nodded and then he sighed when Sam ran her fingers gently through his hair.

“I need you to wake up. There is a demon waiting for you and you need to face it.” Sam said softly.

“And what would this demon be called?” Freddie asked and Sam smiled. She then kissed him softly and then pulled away, walking over to the door and opening it, looking over her shoulder before walking out.

“It’s called life.” Sam replied and then she left. The second she was gone, the studio was gone and Freddie was surrounded by fog once again.

Freddie had no idea how long he was trapped in the fog, but he did know that after a few hours the fog disappeared and he was left in blackness. But in the blackness, Freddie could tell something was different, he just had no idea what it was. That was until the blackness faded.

When the darkness first started to fade, Freddie was confused. He could hear the flatter of butterfly wings from miles away and he could sense 3 people around him. As he was thinking about why this was happening, the darkness faded even more. Soon, he took in a deep breath and opened his eyes, gasping at how clear everything was.

“Freddie.” Came a soft voice and Freddie shot into a sitting position, instantly regretting it as pain shot through his stomach.

“Don’t move so fast. Don’t worry, the pain will stop soon.” The soft voice said and Freddie opened his eyes to see Cassie, Pete and the second man who was massaging his jaw in the room.

“W-where am i?” Freddie asked when the pain had subsided.

“You’re in a cabin in the woods where we live right now. We brought you here after you were stabbed.” Pete replied. Freddie nodded and suddenly, he remembered the red eyes and he looked towards No Name.

“That’s Danny. He saved your life.” Cassie said.

“How?” Freddie asked, looking back up at her and she sighed.

“I’ll tell you if you promise not to flip out.” Cassie replied and Freddie nodded.

“I promise.” He said and Cassie sighed.

“Freddie, you survived because you were turned into a vampire.” Pete said and Freddie instantly looked confused.

“Wait. What? Are you guys serious?” Freddie asked and Cassie nodded. Freddie stared at her as if she was crazy for a few minutes before something clicked and he put his hand to his throat. Cassie gave him a sympathetic look and then wrapped an arm around him.

“Don’t worry kid. We’re still living creatures. We’re not dead like the blood sucking fairies in that vampire movie you kids watch.” Danny said through a slightly clenched jaw.

“Don’t worry about him. He just injured his jaw earlier and still can’t really talk. I’m Pete and this is Danny. You obviously already know Cassie.” Pete said softly and Freddie nodded, still extremely confused. His throat had randomly started burning and he had no idea why. It made it hard to concentrate and mixed with the pain in his stomach, it was a surprise to him he was still standing.

“So, what kind of vampire are you….. we?” Freddie asked after a few seconds and Pete sighed.

“First of all, there is only one kind of vampire, just some are bad and some are evil. We don’t have any special powers or anything, but we can hear better, see better, smell better and we are extremely strong. One important thing you need to know is that we can’t just bite you and turn you. If we want to turn you into a vampire, we must force ourselves to do so by growing fangs that are filled with venom and inject it into you that way. But it is really painful which is why Danny’s jaw hurts.” Pete explained. Danny grunted and then dropped his hand.

“I think it’s pretty much right now. I can hopefully still eat dinner.” Danny said and Cassie rolled her eyes. She then looked to her nephew who had his eyebrows furrowed together in complete confusion.

“I-I don’t….. I don’t understand.” Freddie said.

“Look, I know it seems freaky, but it’s not. You still sleep, eat and do everything a human does, you’re just going to be stronger and you can run faster. But only when in danger. You get stronger when angry, intimidated or when you’re trying to protect someone. It’s not really that different.” Cassie said.

“Do you age?” Freddie asked.

“Yes. But once you reach a certain age and you want to stop, you can. You can also start again if you want, but it is pretty hard and it hurts a fair bit at first.” Pete replied. Freddie nodded, but Cassie could tell he wasn’t really taking anything in as he was in pain and shock. She looked up at Pete and he sighed, leaving the room. Freddie’s eyes followed him and then they looked all around the room, taking in all of the detail he could. He took this time to really look at Cassie and Danny, taking in as much as he could about them.

Cassie was slightly shorter than Freddie and she had long red hair and light brown eyes. She was really quite beautiful, but she also looked worried and tired. She was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with dark blue jeans, a pair of black boots that ended just above the ankle. Freddie knew she was 26, but she looked younger then she really was.  
Danny had dark brown hair and grey-blue eyes. He was sitting down right now, but Freddie guessed Danny was taller than him. He was wearing a black t-shirt with black jeans and black and white converses. He looked buff and Freddie guessed that he was about 24.

When Pete walked back into the room, Danny walked over to Freddie and he and Cassie grabbed one of Freddie’s arms each. He was confused for a second before something hit him and his mouth started watering. The sweetest scent filled the air and it made the burn in his throat even worse. He went to go attack Pete where the scent was coming from, but he was pulled back by Cassie and Danny.

“Calm down Freddie.” Cassie said as he tried to break free. Freddie just stared at Pete with a half-crazed look as he tried to get closer to the smell.

“Freddie, stop fighting. If you calm down, you’ll be able to get what you want. Just relax.” Cassie said, but Freddie still tried to get free.

“Imagine what Sam would do if she saw you going crazy like this.” Cassie said after a few seconds and Freddie suddenly froze, his face going blank.

“I think you hit a nerve.” Danny said when Freddie pulled his arms away from them and walked out of the room, the smell not even having an effect anymore. Cassie sighed and went after Freddie, finding him sitting against the wall right outside of the front door.

“I saw my eyes on the way down the hall. They’re red.” Freddie mumbled when Cassie sat down next to and she sighed.

“Your eyes will go back to normal once you’ve tasted human blood. Believe me; it’s not as gross as it sounds.” Cassie said.

“And I see you changed my shirt too.” Freddie said, pulling at the blue long sleeved shirt he was now wearing.

“I went by your apartment and picked it up for you. Don’t worry. Your mum had no clue.” Cassie said and Freddie weakly smiled. The two sat in silence for a minutes before Cassie turned back to her nephew.

“Why did you walk out when I mentioned Sam?” Cassie asked.

“Because. I realised that if I’m a vampire and if she finds out, she won’t even want to be in the same room as me and that’s not something I will ever be able to handle.” Freddie replied and Cassie nodded in understanding.

“You still love her after everything you’ve been through.” Cassie said softly and Freddie nodded.

“When the crash happened, Sam was the first one to comfort me. We almost got back together the next day, but I told her that until I’m completely over what happened and what I saw, I didn’t want to date her in case it was for the wrong reasons. She was totally fine with it and she was really understanding since she’d seen it happen too. But now that I am apparently a vampire, when she finds out she’ll freak and never speak to me again. I won’t be able to handle losing her for good this time.” Freddie said and Cassie nodded.

“Look, she might never have to find out. Vampires can keep aging and die at the age of 90 if they want. If you want to be with her forever, that might work.” Cassie said.

“But what if I accidently hurt her? Or worse, kill her because I lost control? I would never be able to live with myself.” Freddie said.

“Freddie, worrying about this so much when you haven’t even had any blood isn’t healthy. It’ll just make you go crazy and that will be even worse. We will cross that bridge if it comes down to it and until then, don’t worry too much about it okay?” Cassie asked and Freddie nodded. He then stood up just as his phone started ringing. He was a little surprised to see the it was still in his pocket, but he didn’t have too much time to think when he saw the caller was Sam.

“Answer it. I’ll be inside.” Cassie said and Freddie smiled. He then answered it and put it to his ear.

“Sam?” Freddie asked.

“Oh my god. I thought something terrible had happened to you. You never came back last night and I’ve been freaking out. Everyone has. Where are you?” Sam asked in a panicked voice.

“Sam, please calm down. I am safe and well. As to where I am, I’m not exactly sure. But I am safe. I’ll be home hopefully tomorrow morning. I just need a little space right now.” Freddie said and he could hear Sam’s breathing return to normal.

“Okay. Well, call me again soon. And keep me posted. If you so much as get a scratch on you I will hunt you down and drag you back okay? Just be safe.” Sam said and Freddie smiled softly.

“I will Sammy. Don’t you worry about that. I have to go now, but I’ll call you later. I promise.” Freddie said.

“Okay. Bye.” Sam said and the two then hung up. Freddie then took a deep breath and walked back inside, instantly smelling the sweet smell again. But keeping his self-control in check, he took a deep breath and slowly entered the room, staring at Pete.

Pete was also young, maybe 27, and he had dirty blond hair, stubble across his face and pale blue eyes. He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt with black pants and black boots. He somehow pulled off his look amazingly and Freddie could tell that he had lots of secrets just by simply looking in his eyes for a moment.

“Do you have control over yourself now?” Pete asked.

“I-I think so.” Freddie nodded and Pete looked to Danny and Cassie.

“We wait until tonight before we go. It’ll give us time to get him prepared.” Pete said and they nodded.

“Wait. Get me prepared for what?” Freddie asked.

“To go on your first hunting trip.” Danny replied and Freddie gulped.

This was going to be interesting.

************************************

Freddie was surprised by how much he could see at night. It was like everything was lit up and he was constantly looking around him instead of focusing on the task at hand. He had to be reminded several times not to get to distracted on the details and Cassie was trying not to laugh at his expression of amazement.

“Okay. Now, a fact that is going to be important is this. We only go for the people who are doing the wrong thing. So if they want to murder someone, we go for them. But we do NOT kill them. We just drink enough so that they pass out. Don’t worry; we’ll be there to help in case you get carried away.” Pete said and Freddie nodded. The four then walked down the street a little more before they heard a muffled scream and crying coming from further down the street. Moving quickly, the four reached the alleyway and the sweet smell of blood hit Freddie square in the face. Pete had given him some blood earlier to calm the burn, but now it was back and worse than before. It took all of his control to not attack the girl who was bleeding.

In the alleyway, there was 2 men holding down a young girl who was crying. Freddie watched as Cassie, Pete and Danny attacked the two men and the girl instantly screamed and ran away. Freddie then watched as Pete bit into the first man’s neck and slowly, the man stopped fighting and slumped into him. Pete then pulled away and the man dropped the floor, his friend screaming into Danny’s hand.

“Oh no, no. Don’t scream. He’s not dead, just passed out.” Cassie said and the man’s eyes widened in fear. Cassie then pulled Freddie over to him and smiled.

“He’s all yours.” Pete said and Freddie gave a worried look towards Cassie. She just nodded encouragingly and Freddie took a deep breath before stepping up to the man and slowly, biting into his neck. The man, who still had his mouth covered by Danny’s hand, started trying to push Freddie away, but Freddie just grabbed his wrists and shoved him into the wall.

“Freddie, that’s enough.” Cassie said when the man started to lose consciousness. But Freddie didn’t hear her as he was lost in the amazing taste of the blood. It tasted sweet, something that would never be able to be matched, and it was soothing the burning in Freddie’s throat. Cross with the fact that it was the best thing Freddie had ever tasted, he couldn’t get enough of it. When he was pulled away by the three adults however, a feral snarl sounded from him and he tried to break free.

“Calm down.” Danny said forcefully and for a second, Freddie began to calm down. But suddenly, he started fighting again, his eyes locked on Danny.

“Stay out of my head.” Freddie snarled and Pete, Cassie and Danny all looked shocked. When a vampire turned a human into another vampire, they became their master and in serious situations, they could control the vampires they basically created and get control. As Danny turned Freddie, he should have power, but Freddie seemed to have gotten around the power.

“Let me go.” Freddie growled as he tried to yank his arms away from Cassie and Pete, but they only tightened their grips and pulled him back. The man that Freddie had drunk blood from was now slumped against the wall, his eyes closed and his skin pale. While Cassie and Pete were holding Freddie back, Danny checked the man’s pulse and found it was weakly beating.

“We’ll call an ambulance. Freddie, you need to calm down now.” Danny said forcefully and Freddie growled. Pete and Cassie took advantage of his distraction and pushed him to his knees.

“Let….. me….. go.” Freddie said a little calmer and Pete and Cassie slowly let him go, thinking Danny had gotten to him. However, as soon as he was free, Freddie leapt up and shoved Danny into the wall.

“Stay out of my head.” Freddie snarled and he gasped. Danny was staring into Freddie’s still red eyes and he looked almost feral. Danny somehow knew in that moment he had no control over Freddie at all and when Freddie released his hold on the man, Freddie spun around and slammed his fist into the dumpster, running as fast as he could out of the alleyway. Pete was instantly after him and Cassie went over to Danny.

“Are you alright?” Cassie asked as she checked Danny over.

“I’m fine. Cassie, that kid must have a strong independent mind. He has his mind blocked or something. I can’t get to him.” Danny said and Cassie sighed.

“Pete had better find him. Before he does something stupid.”


	3. Chapter 3

Freddie ran all the way back to the cabin before he noticed that he had been followed. He was about to go inside when he heard the snapping of a stick and he quickly spun around, his eyes red as he was ready to attack.

“Calm down Freddie. I don’t want to hurt you.” Pete said, holding his hands up in surrender.

“Why did you follow me?” Freddie asked with a growl in his voice.

“To make sure that you’re alright. I know it’s hard, but you need to get control of yourself before someone sees you and you blow our secret.” Pete said. Freddie glared at him for a few seconds before he slowly started to relax, soon only have a glare on his face, his eyes back to chocolate brown.

“What did Danny try to do to my head?” Freddie asked.

“As we explained earlier, the vampire that created another vampire is able to control their ‘creation’, or so to speak, in serious situations. Danny was trying to save you from killing that guy and I guess he succeeded, but you managed to stop him from getting to your head. How did you manage to break his command?” Pete asked.

“I’ve been friends with Sam for long enough to know how to keep people from getting to me. I guess I am still able to do it even with someone who’s supposed to be able to control me.” Freddie replied.

“Well, I’m impressed.” Pete said and Freddie smirked, completely relaxing now.

“Pete, who is your creator?” Freddie asked and Pete shrugged.

“You don’t know?” Freddie asked.

“No. The vampire that changed me left me in the forest after he got to me. I was found by another group of vampires who took me in and taught me everything I know.” Pete replied and Freddie looked a little shocked.

“Do Danny and Cassie know?” Freddie asked after a few seconds and Pete shook his head. He then walked into the cabin and Freddie followed closely behind.

“Why haven’t you told them?” Freddie asked.

“Because they never asked.” Pete replied as he sat down on an armchair and Freddie softly sighed, sitting down on the couch.

“Pete, why were you in a forest when you got changed?” Freddie asked after a few minutes of silence and Pete sighed, leaning forward in his chair.

“I was with my dad on a camping trip and we were hiking through the forest one day when I lost track of where my dad was and got lost. I happened to run into a wolf and I panicked and went to run, but of course it chased me and I ended up getting torn apart. I was close to dying when a vampire came up to me and I guess bit me. I blacked out right after that. When I woke up, it was night time and I was in too much pain to move so I laid there. It was dawn when a woman and a man found me and they were baffled I was still alive. They asked me what had happened and when I told them some guy had bitten me just as I blacked out, the guy picked me up and took me back to this mansion in the middle of nowhere. I found out what I was there and lived with about 12 other vampires for a couple years. When I turned 21, I moved away, but I visit them every few weeks. I was 23 when I found Danny and 3 weeks later I found Cassie. We found this cabin a couple months back and have lived here ever since.” Pete said.

“Hang on. How old are you?” Freddie asked.

“I’m 24 in 3 months. I know. I look older than I really am. I have an old soul according to the people who took me in.” Pete said. Freddie nodded and then something came to his head.

“What happened to your real family?” Freddie asked.

“They’re still searching for me to this day. They live in Seattle and I keep tabs on them.” Pete said and Freddie’s heart dropped.

“Do I have to be apart from the ones I love forever now?” Freddie asked.

“No. That is just something I chose to do. I was too scared to face them and as much as I regret it, I can’t take it back.” Pete said, but he frowned when Freddie stood up with a small smile.

“You can change it all you want. You just have to find the right way to slip back into their lives. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, it’s never too late to make a difference.” Freddie said. Pete just stared at him for a few seconds before a small smile appeared and he leant back in his seat.

“Cassie has told Danny and I a lot about you, but she never mentioned that you had an old soul.” Pete said and Freddie raised an eyebrow.

“An old soul?” Freddie asked.

“I believe it means something along the lines of your soul is one that was once someone else’s. Like it was passed down to you from someone who was either brave, loyal, kind or all of the above.” Pete replied.

“I doubt I’m brave, but I guess I am loyal and kind.” Freddie said.

“Freddie, you are one of the bravest people I know. You want to go back to your mother and Sam and Carly right?” Pete asked and Freddie nodded.

“You’re brave because no matter what happens to you, your first thought will always be to get back to them, no matter how hard and painful that endeavour might be.” Pete said and Freddie looked down at the ground.

“Do you really think I could go back to them without hurting them?” Freddie asked.

“I am absolutely positive.” Pete replied and Freddie showed a small smile.

***************************The Next Morning************************

“Where is he? He said he would be here an hour ago.” Carly said as she paced the Shay living room. She, Spencer, Sam, Marisa, Gibby and T-Bo were waiting for Freddie to arrive from wherever he had been. It was currently 10am and they were all becoming restless waiting for him.

“He’ll be here in a minute. He just sent me a text saying he is in the lobby.” Sam said and everyone nodded. 2 minutes went by before the door opened and there stood Freddie, but he wasn’t alone.

“Oh my god. Cassie.” Marisa said.

“That’s my name. Don’t wear it out.” Cassie replied. Marisa then quickly pulled her and Freddie into tight hugs.

“Okay. You’re crushing my lungs.” Freddie said and Marisa let them go. Freddie then turned to the others and Carly almost tackled him to the ground.

“Don’t ever run away again. We were so worried.” Carly said when she pulled away.

“I just needed some space. I was walking and then I found Cassie. She has a huge story to tell.” Freddie replied, hugging the others once he’d spoken. 

When he got to Sam, they stood awkwardly for a second before Sam pulled him into a bone crushing hug. He quickly hugged back and they stayed like that for a good minute before Sam pulled away and punched his arm hard making him flinch slightly.

“Don’t ever do that again you nub.” She said and Freddie laughed.

“I promise.” Freddie laughed just as Danny and Pete walked in.

“Who are they?” Gibby asked and Freddie and Cassie smiled.

“Well, this is Daniel, or Danny, Wyatt and Peter, Pete, Barton. They are the two that saved Cassie. They saw the crash and so they dragged her out and saved her life.” Freddie replied.

“It wasn’t anything big. We just saw how bad of a condition she was in and we took her to a hospital. We didn’t know her name which is probably why you couldn’t find her.” Danny replied.

“Well, thank you for saving her. You have no idea how much it means to me, us.” Marisa said and Danny smiled, shaking her hand. Sam then turned to Pete and saw he was staring at her with curious eyes as if he was trying to figure out who she was.

“So, I am starving. Why don’t we all go out to breakfast and talk about our adventures over the last few days?” Cassie asked and everyone nodded. As they were leaving the apartment, Sam and Freddie dawdled behind the others.

“So what have you been up to the past day and a half?” Sam asked as they walked.

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” Freddie said in a joking manner and Sam rolled her eyes.

“Come on. You can tell me. We’re best friends Freddie. We’re supposed to tell each other everything.” Sam said and she saw something flash across his face. It almost look like fear.

“I wish I could tell you. So much has happened in the past few days. I mean, I found Cassie and met Pete and Danny and I found out something about myself that I probably shouldn’t have.” Freddie said.

“Like what?” Sam asked and Freddie turned to her, the two stopping.

“I can’t say, but I can tell you this. The world isn’t as black and white as it seems.” Freddie said and Sam had a strange feeling run through her. It seemed like he was trying to tell her something without saying what it was. They stared at each other for a few seconds before Freddie sighed and then smiled.

“Come on. Let’s go and get breakfast. I’m starving.” Freddie said and Sam smirked.

“That’s my line.” She replied and the two chuckled as they started walking again.

After breakfast, Sam saw Pete staring at her again and she turned to Freddie.

“Why is that Pete guy staring at me?” Sam asked and Freddie smiled slightly.

“He’s trying to figure you out. That’s just what he does. It’s a little unnerving, but he’ll soon find someone else to stare at.” Freddie said and Sam nodded. 

Suddenly, Freddie’s head begun to spin and he felt extremely light headed.

“Wow.” Freddie said, shaking his head.

“What is it?” Carly asked, everyone turning to look at him.

“I just feel a little light headed. I think I just need some air. I’ll be back in a minute.” Freddie said, slowly standing up.

“Would you like some company?” Marisa asked.

“No. I’ll be okay. I’ll be back.” Freddie said. He then walked out of the store, but when he got outside, a sharp pain in his stomach hit him and he sucked in a sharp breath. A moment later, the pain passed, but then it suddenly felt as if he was being pulled towards something. Letting the feeling fill him, he started walking where he was being pulled and soon, he was running towards it. When the pulling finally stopped, he found himself at a train station, the place completely abandoned.

Freddie started walking around the station trying to figure out why he was there, but after just a minute of being there, the smell of blood filled the air and Freddie’s throat began to burn. Going towards the smell, Freddie slipped between two buildings and went around the back, jumping a fence and almost landing on a young girl who was laying on the ground. At closer inspection, Freddie saw that she had a stab wound and was still alive and awake, trying not to scream.

“Oh boy. It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.” Freddie said as he quickly knelt down beside her and put his hand over the wound, making her gasp in pain.

“I-it h-hurts. I don’t want to die.” She sobbed and Freddie suddenly had an idea. Looking around him, he saw that he was in a really small and enclosed area and he looked back at the girl.

“You aren’t going to die. Just close your eyes. You’ll wake up soon.” Freddie said.

“Why….. why should I trust you?” The girl asked, pain wracking her entire body.

“Because I’m your only hope.” Freddie replied. The girl stared at him for a few seconds before she closed her eyes. Freddie then took a deep breath and leant down to her neck.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered before he bit into her neck. Her eyes snapped open, but Freddie put a hand over her mouth so she couldn’t scream. He then forced his fangs to grow and pain instantly hit his jaw. He could feel the venom leaving his fangs and when he could no longer handle the pain, he pulled away and held his jaw, groaning in pain.

When some of the pain had subsided, he looked back at the girl and saw that her eyes were closed. He then pulled his phone out and called Pete.

“Where are you?” Pete asked when he answered.

“I’ll explain later. Just meet me at the cabin.” Freddie said, grunting in pain as more pain ran through his jaw.

“What did you do?” Pete asked in a strong voice and Freddie could hear the concern and anger.

“I’m hoping the right thing. Just meet me at the cabin and tell Sam too meet me at the fire escape tonight at 9pm. She’ll know what you mean.” Freddie said and then he hung up. He then put his phone away and then picked the girl up, turning and running as fast as he could to the cabin. He hoped he had done the right thing, but only time would tell.

********************Several hours later******************

Sam walked down the hallway of Bushwell Plaza towards the fire escape, a million questions running through her head. Freddie had disappeared earlier that day and he had turned his phone off after a mysterious phone call to Pete who had said Freddie wanted to meet Sam on the fire escape.

When Sam got there and stepped out onto it, she couldn’t see Freddie so when he stepped out of the shadows behind the stairs, she was a little shocked.

“Where have you been all day? You disappear without a goodbye and then you call Pete and tell him to tell me to meet you here? What’s going on Freddie?” Sam asked.

“Sam, I don’t have long. I just need to tell you something. I was going to tell you this morning on the way to breakfast, but it would have taken too long.” Freddie said.

“Wait, Is this about the world not being black and white? What are you trying to tell me?” Sam asked and Freddie looked her dead in the eye, grabbing her arms.

“Do you believe in the supernatural? Like ghosts and vampires and all that kind of stuff?” Freddie asked.

“Not really.” Sam replied and Freddie leant closer.

“Then start. There are things out there that you can only dream of and ghosts and vampires are only the beginning.” Freddie said.

“Freddie, you’re making no sense. There are no such thing as vampires.” Sam said, but the intense look in Freddie’s eyes made her regret her words.

“You might believe that and I can’t change your mind, but you have to promise me one thing. Don’t trust anyone. Don’t look the other way when something supposedly impossible happens and don’t ignore you’re instincts. They are the only thing that can keep you safe now.” Freddie said and Sam nodded. Freddie then took a deep breath and Sam suddenly saw him flinch, clenching his jaw for a moment.

“Freddie, are you okay?” Sam asked.

“I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. Just worry about yourself safe. Don’t go looking for trouble.” Freddie said. He then pulled Sam into a tight hug hid his face in her hair. Sam hugged him back after a second and pulled him as close as she could to her, her arms around his waist and her face hidden against his chest.

After 3 minutes of holding each other close, Freddie pulled away, but only far enough so that he could see her face. He ran his fingers across her cheek and then into her hair, his hand sitting on the back of her head still tangled in her hair.

“I want you to know that, even if we’re not ready yet, I still love you. I always have and always will.” Freddie whispered and then he softly pressed his lips to hers. Sam kissed back and pushed her lips more onto his so that they were fully kissing, her hands sitting on his neck and both of their eyes fluttering closed. When they finally pulled away, Freddie kissed her forehead and then rested his forehead against it.

“I love you too. Always have, always will.” Sam whispered and Freddie smiled softly. He then softly kissed her again and then pulled away from her, instantly missing the feeling of fire running through his body.

“I’ll see you in the morning. And I won’t run away this time. I swear.” Freddie said and this time it was Sam’s turn to smile. After a couple more minutes of standing there, the two went to the Shay door and Freddie kissed Sam’s cheek before turning to leave.

“Aren’t you going home?” Sam asked.

“Not just yet. Don’t worry Sam. I won’t run away. I have a very good reason to come back.” Freddie said.

“And what’s that?” Sam asked and Freddie smiled.

“You already know the answer.” He replied before he turned and disappeared into the elevator. Sam just grinned and then went into the Shay apartment. 

She and Freddie still had a chance and that day couldn’t come sooner.


	4. Chapter 4

When Freddie arrived at the cabin, he went straight over to the girl who was laying on the table he had once been laying on. She was still out cold and Cassie and Pete were sitting on the opposite side of the table to Freddie.

“How is she doing?” Freddie asked.

“She should wake up in a few minutes. She’s stirred at a few times.” Cassie replied and Freddie nodded.

“Why did you turn her like that? You didn’t even know her.” Pete said.

“And Danny didn’t know me and look where I am.” Freddie replied.

“That’s not the point. We can’t just be turning people left and right.” Pete said.

“I did it because she was dying. I know you had a bad start to this side of the line, but remember what you said. If anyone is in the streets and are dying, we have every right to change them. We’re saving a life and that’s that.” Freddie said.

“Boys, stop the insane argument and get back to the task at hand. There is a girl who is going to wake up any second a vampire and she will probably act crazy. Use your efforts to help her get used to this life.” Cassie said. Freddie glared at Pete for a second longer before he turned back to the girl with a sigh. Pete just went and leant against the wall, crossing his arms and watching the three.

It was 2 minutes later when the girl started to wake up and the second her eyes opened, she was terrified.

“Hey. Calm down. Take a deep breath and calm down.” Freddie said calmly and the girl slowly started to calm down.

“Now, what’s your name?” Freddie asked as he helped her slowly sit up.

“Millicent Penelope Thompson. Everyone calls me Millie.” Millie replied and Freddie nodded.

“Where am I? The last I remember I was behind that train station fence and I had been stabbed.” Millie said.

“Okay. After you fell asleep, I brought you here. You’ve been here for about 12 hours.” Freddie said and Millie suddenly looked confused.

“If I was stabbed only 12 hours ago, how come I’m already awake and not feeling that much pain?” Millie asked and Cassie spoke up.

“This is going to come as a huge shock, but you’re a vampire.” Cassie said and after a few seconds, Millie started laughing.

“You’ve got to be kidding me. You guys are crazy.” Millie laughed.

“We’re dead serious. How does your throat feel?” Pete asked, coming over to the table next to Cassie and Millie’s smile faded as her hand wrapped around her throat.

“Can you hear the soft wind outside and can you see the tiny cracks in the walls? Can you smell the forest around us?” Cassie asked and Millie’s eyes widened in shock.

“Now, you might be a vampire, but you are still alive. We are very different to the vampires they show in movies and books.” Freddie said.

“What kind of vampire am I? Or are we?” Millie asked and Freddie smiled softly.

“Basically, we are the exact same as humans, but we have stronger senses and we are incredibly strong. We do drink blood, but not all of the time. Only when the burn in our throats gets hard to control and we start wanting to attack people. Also, we don’t kill people, we just take enough of their blood to knock them out for a few hours.” Freddie said. Millie nodded and was silent for a few minutes as she processed this and then she turned to Cassie.

“How do you get rid of the burn?” She asked and Cassie smiled.

“I’ll take her and you two boys sort out your issues. Just don’t destroy the cabin before we get back. And don’t wake Danny up or he will kill you.” Cassie said and then she and Millie left. Pete and Freddie stayed silent for a minute before Pete spoke up.

“What did you talk to Sam about?” He asked and Freddie sighed.

“I told her that the world is different than it looks. I told her vampires exist, just not that I am one myself.” Freddie replied.

“Why do you want her to know that the supernatural exists?” Pete asked and Freddie looked away.

“Have you ever been in love before?” Freddie asked.

“No.” Pete replied after a few seconds and Freddie looked back.

“Then you wouldn’t understand.” Freddie replied and then he turned and walked to the door, stopping at the door and turning back.

“When and if you ever fall in love, you’ll see things in a different light. Stop over analysing things. It won’t get you very far in the real world. Do what you want because we only have one chance at life, no matter how long you live and how many hurdles you have to face. You have one shot at making things work so don’t think. Just act.” Freddie said and then he turned and walked out of the room, leaving Pete alone and staring at the place he had been standing.

When Cassie and Millie got back to the cabin, Freddie was standing in the front yard leaning against the wall.

“Hey. How did it go? Did Millie lose it like I did?” Freddie asked.

“Almost, but then I yanked her off and the guy fell. We called an ambulance just in case. She’s a lot easier to control than you.” Cassie said and Freddie smiled.

“How are you feeling Millie?” Freddie asked.

“A little freaked out, but better.” Millie replied and Freddie nodded. He then looked her up and down and then smiled. She had long black wavy hair and she looked about 16. She had hazel eyes and she was wearing navy blue jeggings, black boots and one of Cassie’s shirts, a black long sleeved one.

“Cassie, why don’t you take her inside and find her a place to sleep? We’ll call your family in the morning Millie and we’ll sort it out.” Freddie said and Millie looked down.

“Actually, I was getting on the train to get away from my family. I live with my dad and he’s sort of an alcoholic. My mum died when I was 2 and my older brother lives in Georgia. I was planning to go there, but he didn’t know so I guess if I call him I should be alright. As for school, I went to boarding school and get back 3 months ago. My dad dragged me back and I haven’t been to school since.” Millie replied and Freddie sighed.

“Okay. Well, tomorrow we’ll just figure out what to do. Right now you need sleep and so do I. I should probably get home. I’ll come by tomorrow some time.” Freddie said and Cassie nodded, pulling him in for a hug.

“Send me a text when you get home so that I know you got there safe.” Cassie said and Freddie smiled.

“Will do.” Freddie said and then he left. When he was gone, Millie and Cassie went inside to see Pete sitting at the table staring at his hands.

“This is Pete and the buffalo sleeping on the couch is Danny. Why don’t you go sit on the sofa and I’ll be there in a minute?” Cassie asked and Millie nodded before walking and sitting on the couch.

“What’s wrong?” Cassie asked as she sat down across from Pete and he looked up.

“Do you think I over analyse things?” Pete asked.

“Sometimes I guess. Why?” Cassie asked.

“No reason. Just wondering.” Pete replied and Cassie frowned.

“Look, I don’t know what Freddie said and I don’t need to know, but sometimes he says things that mean something else entirely.” Cassie said.

“No. He said exactly what he meant. He wasn’t being mean, he was just saying facts.” Pete said.

“Like what?” Cassie asked, her curiosity peaking.

“I thought you didn’t want to know.” Pete laughed and Cassie rolled her eyes.

“Just tell me.” Cassie replied and Pete sighed.

“He said that we only have one life and that we shouldn’t waste it thinking, that we should just act it out.” Pete said and Cassie showed a small smile.

“He is more than just book smart, but he doesn’t show it that often which is why he gets taken for granted by most of his friends. Don’t make that mistake.” Cassie said and then she got up and walked over to the couch. Pete stared at the back of her head for a few minutes before he got up and walked outside, pulling out his phone and dialling a number.

“Hello?” Came Freddie’s voice 4 rings later.

“I need your help.”

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

2 days later, Freddie was sitting in a café staring at the door waiting for someone to arrive. For the last 2 days, Freddie had been looking for someone. He had finally found who he was looking for the night before and he was currently waiting for them to arrive.

“Excuse me, but are you Freddie Benson?” A woman asked a few minutes later, causing Freddie to look up from his phone. Standing in front of him was a woman and an older looking man.

“Yes. You must be Kayla Barton and you must be her dad Andy Barton.” Freddie said as he shook their hands.

“Yes we are.” Andy replied as he and Kayla sat down.

“You said you had important information for us.” Kayla said and Freddie nodded.

“Do you have a son named Peter?” Freddie asked, looking at Andy who nodded, sadness crossing his face.

“I know where he is.” Freddie said and Kayla and Andy looked at him.

“Pete’s alive?” Kayla asked and Freddie nodded.

“He looks a lot like you Andy. He’s almost 24 right?” Freddie asked.

“In 3 months he’s supposed to be.” Andy replied, hope in his eyes.

“Well, his wish was to find you. He saved my aunt and I from dying and this is my favour to him. He asked for my help to find you and since I’m good with computers, it wasn’t that hard.” Freddie said.

“If what you’re saying is true, when can we meet him?” Kayla asked and Freddie smiled, standing up.

“Follow me.” Freddie replied. Kayla and Andy then followed him out of the café and across the street to the park. They walked down a path for 5 minutes before they reached a bench where a man was sitting, his back to them.

“Pete.” Freddie said and Pete turned around. The second they saw him, Andy and Kayla gasped and Pete smiled weakly.

“I’m back.” Pete said and Andy instantly pulled him into a tight hug which Pete instantly returned. When they pulled apart finally, Pete turned to Kayla who had tears in her eyes.

“Hey big sis.” Pete said and Kayla started crying as she pulled him into his arms. Freddie just stood back and watched the scene with a smile. After 20 minutes of tight hugs and crying, Andy turned to Freddie.

“You brought my son back to me. How can I ever repay you?” Andy asked and Freddie smiled.

“You can make up for lost time. It wasn’t any bodies fault that Pete was lost so don’t blame yourself. Life throws us plenty of hills, but it’s how you decide to get over them that matters. Spend the time you have left with the ones that matter and you’ll finally be able to let go of what happened.” Freddie said, but his eyes were staring at Pete who had tuned in as well as Kayla. Pete just nodded and then looked to his dad.

“We have a lot to talk about. Why don’t we go and start?” Pete asked and Kayla and Andy smiled.

“I’d like that son.” Andy replied.

“Do you want to join us Freddie?” Kayla asked.

“No thank you. You and your father need to be alone with Pete so he can explain how he managed to find a place to stay all of these years. I have a family of my own to get back to. Before I split from you though, Pete. Don’t let the past define your future. You don’t need to keep searching for something that doesn’t matter.” Freddie said and then he turned and walked away. He got to the edge of the park before he looked back to see Pete, Kayla and Andy laughing about something in the park. He just smiled and then turned back and kept walking.

Freddie arrived at Bushwell Plaza an hour later and he went straight up to the Shay apartment.

“Hello teenager who doesn’t live here.” Spencer said when he walked in and Freddie smiled.

“Hey Spence. What are you working on this time?” Freddie asked.

“I don’t know.” Spencer shrugged and Freddie chuckled.

“Hey blond-headed demon and Carly.” Freddie said when he reached the kitchen to see Sam and Carly making sandwiches.

“Hey Fred-nerd. What have you been up to all morning?” Sam asked.

“I was helping Pete find his dad and sister. He got lost a few years ago in the forest and was found by another family so for the past couple days he and I have been looking for his family. We found them and now he is spending time with them for the first time since he was about 17.” Freddie replied and the girls and Spencer looked at him incredulously.

“What?” Freddie asked when he noticed them staring.

“You found his dad and sister for him? How long have you even known him?” Sam asked.

“It doesn’t matter. He saved Cassie’s life. I owed him.” Freddie replied.

“Well, technically Cassie owes him.” Spencer said and Freddie shrugged.

"He also saved my life.” Freddie replied.

“Well I think what you did was very kind. I mean, you barely know Pete and you just found his parents. Not many people would do that for someone who’s barely a stranger.” Carly said.

“I know him better than you think.” Freddie replied and something about those words made Sam, Carly and Spencer get chills running down their spines.


	5. Chapter 5

A week went by and Pete spent most of his time with his family. He told them everything that had happened except for the fact that he was a vampire and he was almost always smiling. Nothing big had happened and Millie had settled into vampire world really well, her brother thinking that she was staying with a friend she had made. Freddie and Pete had convinced Millie to start at Ridgeway High so she was getting education and she was starting 2 weeks later when school started up again.

“So 2 weeks until school’s on again. Your senior year.” Cassie said to Freddie and Freddie scrunched his face up.

“Prom and lots more work. Oh what fun.” Freddie said.

“Hey. Prom is supposed to be a magical night.” Millie said.

“Yeah. For females. Dressing up and going full out is not my thing.” Freddie said.

“Well, you’re going to have fun there. Aren’t you already booked for prom and everything else anyway?” Millie asked and Freddie gave her look.

“What are you talking about? Does Freddie have a girlfriend?” Danny asked.

“No, but he almost does. He introduced me to Sam and Carly yesterday and you could literally see the sparks between him and Sam. It was like fireworks had been set off in the room.” Millie said and Freddie kicked her under the table.

“Ow.” Millie yelped.

“Shut up then.” Freddie shrugged.

“Why don’t you two just date? You can feel the chemistry between you two. It’s almost awkward being in the same room as them.” Millie said.

“Why don’t you stay out of my business?” Freddie asked.

“Well, why don’t you?” Cassie asked and Freddie stared at them incredulously.

“Can we please stop talking about my love life? It is becoming very awkward.” Freddie said and the girls and Danny laughed.

“What’s going on?” Pete asked as he walked inside of the cabin.

“Freddie loves Sam and she loves him and they’re being stupid and won’t do anything about it.” Millie replied.

“And just how do you know that I’ve done nothing about it?” Freddie asked and everyone stared at him.

“Anyway, I just got a call from an old friend and I haven’t seen her since I was 17 so I’m going to go and meet her for dinner.” Pete said.

“Just don’t bite her neck.” Danny said and Pete rolled his eyes while everyone else slightly laughed.

“When are you leaving?” Cassie asked.

“At 7.” Pete replied.

“Well, you have 3 hours to prepare yourself for what could end in a very weird and uncomfortable night.” Freddie replied.

“Why would he need to do that?” Danny asked.

“He hasn’t seen this person since he was 17. She probably thought he was dead for all this time. My two best friends are girls. If there’s one thing I know is that females like to ask questions, no matter what the situation.” Freddie replied.

“He has a point.” Cassie said and Freddie smiled. His phone then went off and he looked at it to see that it was Gibby.

“Is that Sam?” Millie asked. Freddie just rolled his eyes and then answered the phone.

“Hey Gibby. What’s up?” Freddie asked.

“Hey. Uh, I kind of need your help.” Gibby said, the others all hearing.

“What did you do this time?” Freddie sighed.

“Sam glued me to the wall again and I can’t get down.” Gibby replied and Freddie rolled his eyes.

“What did you say to her?” Freddie asked.

“Just that she shouldn’t pick on me so much.” Gibby replied and Freddie smirked as he stood up.

“You should know by now that she won’t listen to you.” Freddie replied.

“Just help me down. I need to use the bathroom.” Gibby replied and Freddie sighed.

“I’ll be there in 10. You’re at the Shay’s apartment?” Freddie asked.

“Yes. Now hurry.” Gibby replied and Freddie hung up.

“I’ll be back soon.” Freddie said as he walked out of the room. He then ran to Bushwell Plaza and up to the Shay’s apartment to find Spencer trying to get Gibby off of the wall.

“Did you think of taking your shirt off?” Freddie asked as he went to help Spencer.

“I don’t take it off unless bathing now. Just please get me down.” Gibby cried and Freddie sighed.

“Alright. Move out of the way Spence.” Freddie said and Spencer moved to the side. Freddie then took Gibby’s hand and, putting his foot to the wall, he pulled hard and Gibby’s shirt tore, making him fall to the floor. Gibby then got up of the floor and ran into Spencer’s bathroom crying.

“I tried that and I couldn’t get him off. How did you do that?” Spencer asked, staring at him in shock.

“I guess I’m just stronger than before.” Freddie shrugged. Spencer just narrowed his eyes and stared at him making Freddie slightly uncomfortable.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Freddie asked.

“There’s something different about you.” Spencer asked.

“Like what?” Freddie asked, crossing his arms with a smile playing on his lips.

“I can’t point it out, but there’s something different about you.” Spencer said and Freddie raised an eyebrow.

“When you figure it out, tell me.” Freddie said and then he walked over to the bench, sitting in front of the computer and going on Splashface. A moment later, Sam and Carly walked downstairs and walked into the kitchen.

“You got Gibby down?” Carly asked.

“Yeah. He’s hiding in the bathroom.” Spencer replied.

“You really should stop gluing Gibby to the wall Sam.” Freddie said, turning to face her.

“Why? It’s fun.” Sam replied.

“Do you really want him to walk around without a shirt?” Freddie asked. Sam just glared at him and he grinned, turning back to the computer. Sam then grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl on the table and, before Carly could stop her, Sam ditched it at Freddie. However, Freddie shocked everyone by catching it in his hand just before it hit him. He then looked at it and took a bite while Sam, Carly and Spencer just stared at him in shock.

“Thanks Sam.” Freddie said as he logged off the computer, but when he got no answer he looked at the three people and got a little confused at their stunned expressions.

“What?” Freddie asked.

“How did you catch that? You didn’t even see it coming.” Sam said in an exasperated voice.

“I have good reflexes.” Freddie shrugged. He then took another bite of the apple and then chucked it from where he was to the sink, surprising everyone again. He just smiled and made his way to the door.

“I’ll see you guys later. Is ICarly still on tomorrow night?” Freddie asked and the three snapped out of their shock.

“Yeah. Remember to come by half an hour earlier so that we can make sure that there are no problems.” Carly said and Freddie nodded before waving goodbye and then leaving the apartment.

“Was that just me or was he acting really weird?” Carly asked.

“No. That was really weird.” Sam replied and Spencer nodded.

Outside of the apartment, Freddie was stepping into the elevator when he suddenly felt really dizzy. Stumbling into the elevator, Freddie pressed the first floor button and then leant against the wall. However, just as the elevator started moving, an extreme pain hit his stomach and he sunk to his knees groaning in agony. It only lasted for a few seconds before it disappeared and was replaced by a pulling. The second the elevator doors opened, Freddie ran out and out of Bushwell Plaza, running down the street until he reached an alleyway he recognised as the one he had been stabbed near. Feeling confused as to why he was there, Freddie slowly walked down it, soon finding a boy about his age lying on the floor all beaten up and covered in his own blood.

“Oh man. What happened?” Freddie asked and the boy started trying to swallow the blood that filled his mouth.

“I was…… jumped and…… dragged in here. Am I going to die?” The boy asked and Freddie sighed.

“No. Not if I can help it. What’s your name?” Freddie asked. The boy was about to reply when he started choking and, knowing he was about die, Freddie took a deep breath and, after taking a quick look around him, he bent down and bit into the boy’s neck, pain shooting through his jaw as he injected his venom into him. When he pulled away, the boy had passed out and Freddie clutched his jaw. After some of the pain had died down, Freddie pulled his phone out and sent a text to Cassie.

Freddie: Meet me at the alleyway I was stabbed in. I need assistance.

Cassie: Okay. Be there in 15.

Freddie: Bring the car.

Once Freddie had sent the text, he put his phone back in his pocket and then looked back to the boy. Seeing his wallet laying on the ground near him, Freddie picked it up and opened it, looking at the ID.

So his name is Gabriel Liam Turner. Why does that sound familiar? Freddie thought to himself. He quickly shook the thought away as his phone beeped and he looked at it to see it was a message from Sam.

Sam: Hey. Can you meet me at my place at 8? I need to ask you something.

Freddie: Sure. I’ll see you then.

Sam: :)

Freddie sighed and then put his phone away just as Cassie pulled up in front of the alleyway. Freddie stood up and Cassie came running to him.

“What happened here?” Cassie asked.

“I found him like this. He said he was jumped and beaten. His name is Gabriel. I checked his ID. Can you help me get him to the cabin?” Freddie asked and Cassie sighed. She and Freddie then got Gabriel to the car and then got in, Cassie driving away.

“This time I’m not going to stop Pete from yelling at you. Another random stranger Freddie?” Cassie asked as they were driving.

“Pete had 2 random saves, one of them being you as I recall.” Freddie replied and Cassie sighed.

“No more Freddie. Not unless you have no other choice.” Cassie replied.

“Don’t worry. The pain is not something I could handle too many times. And I can handle Pete. He’s as scary as a teddy bear compared to Sam. In a good mood she glued someone to the wall.” Freddie said.

“I can’t help but notice you talk about Sam a lot.” Cassie said and Freddie blushed.

“Shut up.” Freddie muttered and Cassie smiled.

“So, do you have a crush on her?” Cassie asked.

“I love her.” Freddie replied and Cassie looked at him for a moment, feeling sightly shocked.

“Have you told her that?” Cassie asked.

“Yeah. She knows.” Freddie replied, looking out the window.

“Then what’s the problem? If she loves you back, why don’t you two just date?” Cassie asked.

“Well, for one we said we’d get back together one day and it just hasn’t quite happened yet. Also the fact that I’m a vampire kind of plays into the whole factor.” Freddie replied.

“Well, if you do tell her, you have my full support. If you love her enough, I’m on your side. But you have to be sure she loves you back.” Cassie said.

“She does. She told me.” Freddie said.

“Just because she said it doesn’t mean she means it.” Cassie said.

“Sam is the kind of person who has a hard time figuring out her feelings. If she didn’t mean it then she wouldn’t have said it. That’s just how she is.” Freddie said. Cassie just nodded in response and then looked in her rear view mirror at Gabriel.

“Wonder when he’s going to wake up. He really doesn’t look good.” Cassie said and Freddie nodded, turning and looking at him.

“I wonder if he’ll even make it. He was almost dead when I found. He couldn’t even say his name without choking on his own blood.” Freddie said.

“Well, only time will tell.” Cassie said and Freddie nodded, sitting properly in his seat. The rest of the drive was silent, the silence continuing even after they had pulled up at the cabin and had gotten Gabriel inside and on the table.

For the rest of the afternoon, Freddie, Cassie, Danny and Pete sat around the cabin not bothering about doing anything. Millie had left to go meet her brother at the train station before Freddie and Cassie had gotten Gabriel to the cabin and so Freddie had texted her saying there was another person there and Millie had said she would keep her brother busy for the night and introduce her brother to them the next day.

At 7pm, Pete left the cabin to go and meet his friend and Danny just teased him. He loved the fact that Pete was nervous to meet the person and in the end, Pete had to order Danny to stop. He quickly left right afterwards and arrived at the restaurant he was having dinner at 5 minutes early. However, so was the friend he was meeting.

“Pete. Oh my god. I can’t believe it’s really you. It’s been so long.” A shorter brunette woman said as she hugged Pete.

“Hey Amber. It’s been way too long.” Pete replied. The two then pulled apart and Pete looked her up and down. She was wearing a purple slightly puffy dress that ended just above her knees and had spaghetti straps with black heels, her hair was up in a bun and her make up made her pale green eyes stand out. Pete was wearing jeans and a navy blue dress shirt with a black tie and grey vest.

“So how have things been?” Amber asked when the two had gone into the restaurant and had gotten their tables and drinks.

“Alright. The past week has been pretty full on, but it’s good. What about you?” Pete asked.

“Well, kind of boring. I work at a studio and I work with children and help them put on plays and dance shows.” Amber replied.

“That sounds like a lot of fun.” Pete replied.

“It is, until one of the kids pukes all over you in the middle of a show night because they ate too much before they went on the stage.” Amber said and Pete scrunched up his nose.

“So where do you work Pete? I mean, it’s been a while since you’re first job.” Amber said.

“I don’t actually have a job. Unless making sure 4 people don’t run amuck and kill each other is a job.” Pete replied, taking a sip of his drink.

“You have kids?” Amber asked and Pete choked.

“God no. One of them is older than me, one is the same age and the other two are 17 and 16, almost 17. Danny is my age, Cassie is 26, Freddie is 17 and Millie is 16. None of them are related to me. We just sort of all hang out and I’m sort of the one that stops the deaths.” Pete replied and Amber smiled.

“Are any of your friends related to each other?” Amber asked.

“Cassie is Freddie’s aunt. Although Freddie acts older than he really is sometimes. He’s actually the one that helped me get in touch with everyone again. He’s a computer expert.” Pete replied.

“I just have to ask this, but where did you go after you went missing?” Amber asked and Pete sighed.

“I lived in the forest with a family of about 12 until I was 21 and then I lived all over Seattle from then on. Now I live with Danny, Cassie, Millie and sort of Freddie in a cabin in the woods. Freddie spends most of his time at the cabin, but he always goes back to his mum’s apartment and spends the night.” Pete replied and Amber nodded.

“Well, onto something else, I am starved. Let’s order.” Amber said and Pete smirked.

“Still have the same appetite I see.” He said and Amber stuck her tongue out. Pete then chuckled and soon, the two were laughing and joking like old times.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was 8pm and Freddie had just stepped onto Sam’s front porch. Raising his fist, he knocked on Sam’s front door, waiting 30 seconds before it was opened by Sam. She was wearing a long sleeved white shirt with blue jeans. Her hair was down in their curls and Freddie couldn’t help but notice that her shirt showed her curves off.

“Hey. Come on in.” Sam said, stepping to the side and Freddie, who was wearing one of his plaid long sleeved shirts and jeans, stepped inside.

“So what did you call me over for?” Freddie asked as Sam closed the front door.

“Well, I thought maybe we could hang out. I mean, you always seem to be busy with Millie and Danny and we haven’t really hung out for a while.” Sam said and Freddie felt a little guilty.

“Don’t worry. They’re fresh meat to hang out with. I totally get it. But let’s forget about that. I want to show you something.” Sam said, grabbing his hand. She then pulled him upstairs and to her room. When they stepped in, Freddie was surprised to see a box of pizza and a box of chocolate covered strawberries sitting on the bed.

“What’s with the pizza and strawberries?” Freddie asked.

“I just thought that it would be nice to have them since it’s been forever since we hung out with no one else.” Sam said and Freddie smiled, walking over to the bed and sitting down next to the pizza.

“Alright. But if I die from poison or something, it’s your fault.” Freddie replied and Sam rolled her eyes, closing her bedroom door.

Half an hour went by with eating, talking and laughing and soon, the two were laying on the bed facing each other propping themselves up on their elbows eating the last of the strawberries that were left.

“Okay. You want the last strawberry?” Freddie asked, picking the last chocolate covered fruit out of the bowl.

“You can have it.” Sam said.

“Come on. This could be the best strawberry in the entire world and you wouldn’t know because you aren’t going to eat it.” Freddie said.

“Fine.” Sam laughed and Freddie grinned, holding it as she bit into it. Freddie then ate the other half and then put the green part in the bowl, moving it and then looking into Sam’s eyes.

“You were right. That was the best strawberry.” Sam said and Freddie gave a small smile.

“You alright? You look a little worried.” Sam said after a few seconds and Freddie sighed.

“I’m just thinking about the future and what it’ll bring with it.” Freddie replied and Sam nodded.

“That’s something that everyone worries about so you’re not alone.” Sam said. She then lifted her arm up and gently ran it through his hair, resting her hand on his cheek.

“Sam, there’s something I need to tell you. And you might hate me for it.” Freddie said after a few seconds and Sam sat up.

“What is it?” Sam asked as he sat up. He then looked into her eyes and then took a deep breath. He then closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them up again, Sam gasped at the redness.

“I’m a vampire.”


	6. Chapter 6

“How could you not have told me right after it happened? I was so worried about you and you were just living it up in vampire world.” Sam yelled at Freddie who was standing on the other side of the bed from her. After Freddie had told Sam that he was a vampire, Sam had started yelling at him and it had been going on for 5 minutes so far.

“I wasn’t living it up at all.” Freddie replied.

“Yeah right. You just found out you were more powerful than anyone ever and you weren’t having the time of your life? Why did you even let them turn you into a vampire?” Sam asked.

“I didn’t have a choice. I had just been stabbed and I was dying in the street. It was either die or become a vampire and live a relatively normal life.” Freddie yelled and Sam looked puzzled.

“You were stabbed?” Sam asked.

“Yes. I had almost gotten home when some creep jumped me and threw a knife at me. Cassie, Danny and Pete saved me and Pete broke the man’s neck. Danny then turned me and if he hadn’t of done that I would have been dead.” Freddie said.

“There’s a thing called a hospital.” Sam pointed out.

“I was bleeding out to fast. By the time the ambulance got there I would have died and that’s not something Cassie was going to let happen.” Freddie said and Sam just stared at him, trying to study him.

“If you want me out of your life forever, that’s fine. I’ll leave and never come back. But I need you to know that I love you and would do anything for you, leaving included. If you want me gone, say the words, but if you’re scared of what I am, then you need to tell me.” Freddie said softer and suddenly, Sam saw something in his eyes.

“You’re scared. You’re scared of yourself.” Sam said and Freddie blinked.

“How did you get that from what I said?” Freddie asked.

“I can see the fear in your eyes Freddie. You’re scared of what you’ve become. But why?” Sam asked and suddenly, an angry and frustrated look appeared on Freddie’s face.

“Why? Why am I scared of myself? I am scared because I don’t know what I’m capable of. I don’t know if one day I’ll lose control and kill someone on the streets or worse, someone I care about. I don’t know if one day I won’t just snap and kill you. What terrifies me the most is that I can’t control my actions when I lose control. I almost killed someone because I could, not because they were weak or small, but because I had the power to do so. I lost control and almost killed someone because I was the stronger person and they couldn’t stop me. Of course I’m terrified of what I am, but I’m a whole lot more terrified of what I could become.” Freddie yelled and Sam just stared at him. They both stood there for several minutes before Freddie just shook his head and turned to the door.

“Forget me telling you. I shouldn’t have said anything.” Freddie said.

“If you shouldn’t have then why did you?” Sam asked.

“Because I thought that maybe you would understand and help me figure out what I should do. I guess I was wrong.” Freddie said and then he walked out the door.

“Freddie, wait.” Sam said as she ran out after him. When she finally managed to stop him, they were in the living room and Freddie was facing away from her, Sam having grabbed his arm.

“Freddie, please don’t leave. I’m sorry I yelled at you, but I just wasn’t expecting you to tell me that.” Sam said. It was silent for a moment before Freddie turned around and he looked as if he was holding back tears.

“I don’t understand what you’re going through, but if you want to talk and figure everything out you can. I don’t hate you at all.” Sam said and Freddie nodded. Sam then lightly pulled his arm and he sighed softly, letting her pull him back upstairs to her room.

“I want you to tell me everything you know about vampires just so that I have some idea about what they’re like.” Sam said once the bedroom door was shut and Freddie took a deep breath.

“They’re pretty much the same as the normal person, but they have stronger senses and are stronger. They can also run faster, but that is mainly when they’re scared or being chased. They do drink blood, but most aren’t maniacs and just go and kill random people. Cassie, Danny, Pete, Millie and I, we go after the bad people, but we never kill them. We just… drink enough of their blood to make them pass out and also to satisfy the craving.” Freddie said and Sam took a long shaky breath.

“So you drink blood. And how do you know when you have to…. do this?” Sam asked.

“When there is a painful burn in your throat. It doesn’t come all of the time though, but it does hurt whenever you smell blood.” Freddie said and Sam nodded. She then stayed silent for a couple minutes as she processed it all and when she did, she turned to Freddie.

“I need you to tell me everything that’s happened so far and everything that you’re scared of. I don’t care if it comes out a mess or all jumbled, but you need to tell me so we can start to sort out how things will go.” Sam said and Freddie nodded.

“Where should I begin?”

**************Somewhere on the streets*************

“Tonight has been fun. Who knew a dinner could turn into a walk through the park eating ice cream out of cardboard cups.” Amber said as she and Pete walked down a pathway past the large pond in the park. After eating their dinner, still having a lot to catch up on, the two of them decided to go on a walk, Pete suggesting they get ice cream.

“You didn’t think I wouldn’t get you ice cream did you? If I remember correctly, it was your favourite dessert.” Pete said.

“I’m impressed you remembered that. And for the record, it still is.” Amber said and Pete smiled.

“So, I know this is a bit of a personal question, but do you have a girlfriend or anything?” Amber asked after a minute of silence and Pete smiled.

“I’m single at the moment. The last time I dated was when I was 20 and that was only for 2 months. She was one of the people I lived with and we sort of liked each other.” Pete said.

“What happened to her?” Amber asked.

“We just realized that, after we had a little too much to drink one night and…. things had happened, we weren’t right for each other. We were just too similar.” Pete replied.

“You still can’t say any of those sexual kind of words can you?” Amber asked.

“No I cannot.” Pete replied and Amber giggled.

“What about you? Do you have a boyfriend or more?” Pete asked.

“Nope. I’m a free agent. I go on dates, but all of my dates seem to be either complete jerks that make me pay or they just ruin everything.” Amber said.

“Guys have made you pay for dinner? That’s so horrible.” Pete said sarcastically and then he laughed when Amber punched his arm.

“Laugh all you want, these guys eat like elephants. They pretty much eat the entire restaurant kitchen.” Amber said and Pete sighed.

“Well, aren’t you glad that I paid for it all?” Pete asked and Amber smiled. Pete then put his now empty ice cream container in the bin that they had just passed and sighed.

“What’s with the sigh?” Amber asked, stopping to put her ice cream container in the bin as well and then continuing to walk.

“I don’t know. I guess I just thought things would be so much weirder tonight.” Pete replied.

“Honestly, so did I. It’s been years since we last spoke after all.” Amber said and Pete nodded, the two stopping and turning to face each other.

“If there was one thing in your life that you could change, what would it be?” Amber asked. Pete pursed his lips as he thought and then nodded when he had something.

“The one thing I would change would have been to not go into that forest in the first place.” Pete replied and Amber frowned, tilting her head slightly.

“You’ve changed. And in a way that isn’t so obvious. I just can’t quite put my finger on it.” Amber said.

“When you figure it out, give me a call.” Pete replied.

“Better yet, why don’t you come over to my apartment and we can catch up? Come on. Nothing has to happen. We’re just two friends catching up.” Amber said and Pete sighed.

“Fine. But just an hour.”

In another part of town, Sam was sitting against her headboard on her bed with Freddie’s head resting on her shoulder, one of her arms around him and the other stroking his hair.

“Things will work out Freddie. They might just take some time.” Sam said softly and Freddie opened his eyes.

“But how long will that take?” Freddie asked. Sam just sighed and kissed the top of his head, tightening her grip on him.

“That’s for you to decide.” She said and Freddie nodded, closing his eyes again.

“I’m tired.” He said and Sam smiled.

“Then get some sleep. I’ll be here when you wake up in the morning.” Sam said and Freddie sighed. He then laid down on his side and rested his head on one of her crossed legs, Sam just smiling and picking up one of his hands and linking fingers.

“I love you.” Freddie mumbled in his half asleep state and Sam stroked his hair with her free hand.

“I love you too.” Sam replied softly and Freddie moved slightly. Sam knew that things were complicated between her and Freddie, but she also knew that, no matter what, they would always end up together. Right now though, Freddie had to deal with the fact that he was a vampire and until he had finally accepted this, Sam knew they couldn’t date. She just hoped it didn’t take him to much longer.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The early morning sun shone through the window, shining onto the couch where Pete lay sleeping. Pete, after several hours of talking with Amber, had accidently fallen asleep on her couch like the many times he had when they were in high school and he needed to talk to her about something.

When Pete woke up, he was a little confused as to where he was. He knew he wasn’t in the cabin, but he knew he was somewhere familiar, somewhere where he knew he was safe. When he finally remembered, the smell of coffee had filled the air and he was sitting up.

“You’re finally awake. Thought you had died or something.” Amber said when she sat down on the couch, handing Pete a cup of coffee.

“Thanks. Why’d you think I was dead?” Pete asked.

“Even as a teen you used to sleep and not get woken up except by an explosion.” Amber said and Pete gave a small smile, taking a sip off his coffee.

“You know, when you disappeared, I used to imagine you sleeping on my couch. It would help me stop being scared for a while, but then I’d remember that you were gone and I’d start worrying all over again. You never did answer why you didn’t come back sooner.” Amber said and Pete looked down.

“I wish I could, but I can’t right now. It just wouldn’t be right.” Pete replied and Amber sat up straight, putting her coffee mug down.

“Wait. Are you saying that there’s a reason that you didn’t come back?” Amber asked and Pete nodded.

“Why can’t you just tell me?’ Amber asked and Pete looked away.

“It’s not something that I can just say. It’ll change the way you see the world. And also, if I told you, you would never want to speak to me again.” Pete said.

“Why would I ever do that? Pete, please tell me.” Amber said and Pete turned his head, looking her in the eyes. Telling her would change everything and Pete cared so much about Amber it hurt to think of her hating him. Even though they were apart for so long, they had found it extremely easy to talk to each other. But this was one of the only things that Pete just couldn’t tell her about. He loved her too much to ruin her life. But did he love her enough to tell the truth?

2 hours later, Pete arrived at the cabin to find Freddie, Danny and Cassie sitting on the couches, Gabriel sitting on the armchair looking petrified.

“There’s more of them?” Gabriel asked.

“Gabriel right?” Pete asked.

“I prefer Gabe thanks.” Gabe said quietly and Pete smiled.

“I’m Peter, or as I prefer, Pete. Nice of you to finally wake up and join us.” Pete said.

“Where were you Pete? Haven’t seen you in a while.” Danny said and Pete rolled his eyes.

“I crashed at my friend’s house.” Pete replied.

“I bet you did more than just crash there.” Danny said and Freddie elbowed him hard in the ribs.

“Ow!” Danny yelled.

“Don’t be an idiot then.” Freddie shrugged.

“How strong even are you? I’m pretty sure you broke some ribs.” Danny said.

“Stop bantering and deal with the fact that Gabe here is freaking out.” Cassie said and Danny and Freddie turned to see a terrified look on Gabe’s face.

“Hey guys. Sorry I didn’t come back earlier. My brother insisted that I stay at the hotel since it was night when I was planning to leave. He asked to come around here for- Gabe?” Millie asked when she saw him.

“Millie? You too?” Gabe asked, standing up.

“Wait. You two know each other?” Danny asked as he massaged his ribs.

“We went to boarding school together since we were 7. Why are you here and more importantly, why are you now a vampire?” Millie asked.

“I was jumped in an alleyway and was pretty much dead when Freddie found me. I came here looking for you. I mean, you left so suddenly and me and 2 of the others ditched classes and searched everywhere. I tracked your phone here and was coming to find you when I was attacked. What happened to you?” Gabe asked.

“Alright. You two need some privacy right now so why don’t we go outside and wait there while you two catch up.” Freddie said and Millie gave a small smile.

“Thanks Freddie.” Millie said and then she watched as the three adults and Freddie left the cabin and went outside.

“How long are they going to take?” Cassie asked an hour later, her and Freddie sitting on the ground against the wall of the cabin, Danny leaning against a tree and Pete pacing around.

“Who knows. You alright Pete?” Freddie asked when he saw a strange look on Freddie’s face and Pete snapped out of his trance.

“What? Oh, I’m fine.” Pete replied.

“So what happened to you last night? You never came back after dinner with that friend.” Cassie said.

“He got lucky.” Danny said and Pete sighed.

“Why do you always go to that?” Pete asked and Danny shrugged.

“Alright. Before this turns into a war, let’s go inside and stop what could be a very awkward moment between Millie and the new kid.” Cassie said and the three males nodded, the four of them going inside to see Millie and Gabe sitting on the couch.

“Alright. Don’t start making out now that we’re back because I will puke on you.” Danny said and everyone rolled their eyes except Gabe who was confused.

“That’s Danny. Don’t worry about him. He’s harmless.” Freddie said and Danny stuck his tongue out.

“So what happened while we were outside?” Cassie asked.

“I told him some stuff about being a vampire and he told me why he came here in the first place.” Millie replied, giving Gabe look out the corner of her eye, Gabe responding with a similar look.

“Okay. I have to go to prepare for ICarly stuff, but I’ll be back in about 3 hours.” Freddie said.

“Okay. Have fun.” Cassie said and Freddie nodded before leaving the cabin and heading to Bushwell Plaza. 

“Guys, my brother is going to be here in an hour. And he isn’t happy.” Millie said.

“Why not?” Pete asked.

“Because he knows what I am. And he wants to kill Freddie.”


	7. Chapter 7

It was later that night when Freddie got back to the cabin and as soon as he did, he knew something was wrong. It was way to quiet and he could smell a strange scent in the air. However, as he wasn’t alone, he didn’t speak his concern.

Going inside, Freddie was met with silence until he walked into the living room and being met with a knife flying right past his face. He quickly turned to see Millie, Gabe, Pete, Danny, Cassie and a man he had never met there, the man looking angry.

“What the heck?” Sam asked who was currently standing in the doorway.

“Sam. What are you doing here?” Cassie asked with wide eyes.

“I was coming to see how you were going, but I see someone wants to throw knives instead.” Sam replied and Cassie looked to Pete and Danny.

“Ben, please don’t do this. He has a good reason.” Millie said and Ben, the mystery man, laughed.

“I highly doubt that. This is probably his next victim.” Ben growled and Sam frowned.

“What the hell is your problem? I am nobody’s victim thank you very much. I see you must be related to Millie somehow and the fact you just threw a knife at Freddie’s head suggests you know that he turned your precious Millie into a vampire.” Sam said.

“You know?” Danny asked.

“Yes. I do. And I’m not freaking out and killing you am I? No. I’m actually glad that you turned him because now at least he’s still alive and not dead. So Ben or whatever your damn name is, I’d think twice before you assault him because then you will be dealing with me and my criminal record isn’t a good one.” Sam said.

“Sam, please calm down and keep the butter sock away.” Freddie said coming up next to her and grabbing her arm and Sam nodded, stepping back but keeping a glare on Ben.

“Why are you defending him? He’s a bloodsucking monster who turned my little sister into one.” Ben said and Sam stepped forward again.

“Freddie is as much of a monster as you and I. The only real difference is that he is faster, stronger and drinks blood, which your sister also seems to do. Now, shut up and listen as to why he changed your sister. Did you even ask Millie before you decided to try and kill Freddie?” Sam asked and by the look on Ben’s face, she knew he hadn’t.

“Okay. Freddie, tell him the story. If he tries anything, I have the butter sock.” Sam said and Freddie nodded.

“Hurry up if you want to tell me or I will throw another knife.” Ben said and Freddie quickly grabbed Sam’s hand to stop her from getting the butter sock out.

“Okay. I was at a restaurant for breakfast with Sam, Cassie, Danny, Pete and a few other people when I felt dizzy. I went outside and the next thing I knew I was at a train station. I walked around for a while when I found Millie and she had been stabbed and was bleeding everywhere. It was either change her or let her die and I figured that I may as well save her because someone out there cares about her. I then got her back here and made sure she was alright before she called you.” Freddie said and Sam glared at Ben when she saw his hard expression still on his face.

“I think I should get Sam home. It doesn’t look like it’s too safe to keep her here. Come on Sam.” Freddie said, lightly tugging on her arm. Sam just pulled back and Freddie instantly stepped back, knowing she mad.

“I’d stand back if I were you.” Freddie said quiet enough for the vampires to hear and they all stepped back just as Sam pulled out the butter sock and slammed Ben in the face with it, knocking him to the floor.

“Freddie saved Millie’s life and you can’t even say thank you? What the hell is wrong with you?” Sam yelled and Ben got up with an angry growl. The two circled each other for a moment before Ben pulled a knife out of his belt. Sam instantly backed up, but that didn’t stop Ben from throwing the knife.

“No!” Freddie yelled, quickly getting to Sam and pushing her with a small amount of his strength, Sam stumbling to the side as Freddie dropped to the ground, gasping in pain.

“Freddie? What’s wrong?” Cassie asked and Freddie moved his arm to show to knife lodged in his side. Everyone, especially Ben, was in shock as he pulled it out of his skin, the knife’s blade covered in blood. Sam then went to his side and took the knife, sliding it across the ground and then putting her hand over the stab wound which had already started bleeding quickly.

“Come on. Let’s get you cleaned up.” Cassie said when she reached them, helping Sam get Freddie up and out of the room into the bathroom, sitting him on the toilet lid.

“Take off your shirt so we can patch you up okay?” Cassie asked and Freddie nodded. However, as he tried to take his shirt off, he sucked in a sharp breath as it hurt to move his arm. When he finally got the shirt off, Sam held his hand tightly while Cassie cleaned and patched it up.

“You tired now?” Sam asked when he had one of Danny’s shirts on, his soaked in blood.

“A little. But I’m also hungry.” Freddie said and Sam smiled. She and Cassie then helped him up and got him back to the living room, Ben sitting on the couch looking really guilty.

“Freddie. I’m really sorry about the knife. I just went a little crazy. Millie and I had it rough growing up and so I guess that I just wanted to protect her.” Ben said and Freddie smiled slightly as Sam and Cassie helped him sit down in the armchair.

“It’s fine. Just don’t throw anymore knives alright?” Freddie asked and Ben nodded. Millie, Gabe and Danny then came inside after having gone on a quick dinner run, but Pete was nowhere to be found.

“He ran into his friend Amber Parker and he decided to hang out with her for a while.” Millie replied. Cassie nodded and then she noticed that Gabe’s eyes were no longer red.

“I’m guessing you had a quick feed while you were gone.” She said and Ben’s eyes widened.

“We don’t kill people. We look for bad people and then we drink their blood until they pass out.” Danny said, but Ben’s eyes stayed wide. That’s when Sam noticed that he was staring at her.

“Why are you staring at me?” Sam asked as she sat on the arm of the armchair, her arm going around Freddie’s neck as he rested his head on her side.

“Aren’t you just the tiniest bit frightened to be in a cabin full of vampires?” Ben asked and Sam shook her head.

“Why?” Ben asked.

“Because I care enough about Freddie to not let it bother me. Also, if anyone tries to hurt me Freddie would probably rip their heads off.” Sam said.

“You two love each other don’t you?” Danny asked, everyone looking at the two and Sam nodded, Freddie drifting off to sleep.

“So you love each other, but you don’t want to date?” Millie asked and Sam sighed.

“I don’t talk about it, but if you wait for him to wake up, he can tell you.” Sam replied and it was silent for a moment before Danny frowned.

“Is that my shirt?” He asked and everyone rolled their eyes, everyone except Ben who was still staring at Sam.

Later that night and in the middle of town in Amber’s apartment, Pete and Amber were sitting on Amber’s couch, an empty bottle of wine and two glasses half full of wine, Pete and Amber both a little tipsy.

“Alright. I should get home. It’s getting late.” Pete said after a while, the two standing up and Amber frowned.

“No. Why can’t you stay a little while longer?” Amber asked, grabbing his arm.

“Because if I do we’ll probably end up drunk.” Pete replied and Amber giggled.

“Stay.” Amber said, wrapping her arms around his waist and he sighed, his arms going around her shoulders. The two then stood like that for a moment before Amber took Pete by surprise and kissed him, no words said, just her lips on his. It took Pete a moment to even register what was happening, but the second he did, he started kissing back.

“I guess being a little tipsy can help make you do things you want to do.” Amber said when they pulled apart and Pete stared into her eyes. The two stood there for a few moments before all sense left their brains and they slammed their lips together, Amber jumping up and wrapping her legs around his waist, his arm going securely around her waist while his other hand twisted into her hair. As Pete was pulling up her shirt, the two fell back onto the couch and Amber landed on Pete.

Tonight was definitely a good night.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

In the cabin late at night, all of the vampires were asleep, Sam and Ben wide awake and sitting at the table with cups of coffee.

“I don’t get how you are so comfortable around a bunch of vampires. I’m freaking out.” Ben said.

“Clearly as you threw a knife.” Sam replied.

“I feel really bad about that.” Ben said.

“Don’t worry. Freddie won’t hold that against you.” Sam said and Ben nodded. It was silent for a moment before Ben stared Sam dead in the eyes.

“Are you scared of Freddie?” Ben asked.

“No.” Sam replied without hesitation and Ben raised his eyebrows.

“Why not? Aren’t you scared he might kill you by accident?” Ben asked and Sam shook her head.

“Why exactly?” Ben asked and Sam sighed.

“Okay. I’m going to try and explain something to you. I’m not good with emotions so I might get jumbled, but just try to follow.” Sam said and ben nodded.

“The reason I’m not scared of Freddie is because… I love him. He is one of the best things in my life and he thinks of everyone but himself most of the time. I remember once it was freezing cold and he gave me his jumper to stay warm. He ended up getting hypothermia and his lips went blue because he refused to take the jumper back. Anyway, I trust him and for me, that’s a lot. I know he wouldn’t hurt me on purpose and if he does hurt me, he’d never forgive himself. But the main reason I’m not scared of him is because he’s scared of himself.” Sam said and Ben’s eyes widened slightly.

“He told you that?” Ben asked.

“He tells me everything same as I tell him everything. And he didn’t have to tell me that. It was obvious in his eyes. His eyes show all of his emotions, especially when his words and looks can’t. He’s an open book for the most time which is why I love him and envy him at the same time.” Sam said.

“Why do you envy him?” Ben asked.

“Because he can just open up without a second thought and I can’t. He’s the one that is always there for me and puts my issues first. Which is why I’m here with him and not scared of him.” Sam said.

“Because he needs you more than you need him.” Ben replied quietly and Sam nodded.

“I guess I can see where you’re coming from, but I still see them as-“

“Monsters? I think that’s what they’re afraid of. That people will think of them as monsters instead of the kind and wonderful people they really are. I’m sure there are monsters out there, but these guys are anything but monsters.” Sam said and Ben put his face in his hands. Sam then noticed the wedding ring on his finger and she smiled slightly.

“You married?” Sam asked and Ben looked up at her.

“Yep. 22 and married. Most of my friends call me crazy for being so committed, but I like the way I am.” Ben said.

“Is that why you ran away from home?” Sam asked and Ben looked taken aback.

“I took it upon myself to look in your wallet. Millie’s last name is Thompson, but yours is Morris. I’m guessing that you ran away from home and changed your name so that you couldn’t be found.” Sam said.

“Spot on. My father was abusive. He was all about family honour and standing by your family no matter what, but he beat Millie and I to the point of being knocked out, especially me. By the time I turned 15 I’d had enough. I tried to bring Millie, but she was too young to really understand. I got my name changed to Morris because my dad came looking for me and tried to kill me for running away. Millie told me that she tried to run away, but someone attacked her and stabbed her. She couldn’t remember who, but she knew it was a man. When she said that Freddie had turned her into a vampire, my emotions just took over and I was reminded of when my dad tried to do bad things to us. I used to throw knives at him.” Ben said and Sam looked him in the eye.

“You wanted to kill him right?” Sam asked and Ben nodded.

“So what makes you any better than anyone else in the room?” Sam asked and Ben stared straight her, his brain suddenly freezing everything but that sentence, the words playing over and over in his head.

The next morning, Pete and Amber were lying in Amber’s bed, both heavily breathing and covered in sweat.

“Did we really stay up all night?” Amber asked and Pete chuckled.

“I believe so.” Pete replied, still trying to catch his breath. Amber then turned her head to look at him and she smiled when she saw his pink cheeks, his eyes closed as his breathing returned to normal. After a few seconds of staring at him, Amber curled up into his side and his arm went around her, pulling her into him, her head resting on his chest, her hand sitting over his heart.

“Your heart is racing.” Amber said quietly and Pete kissed the top of her head.

“Probably because you’re here.” Pete whispered and Amber sighed in content, moving impossibly closer and closing her eyes. The two had almost fallen asleep when a knock on the door woke them up, making Amber groan and Pete laugh.

“Who on Earth would come here at 6:30 in the morning?” Amber asked as the two got clothes on, Amber putting pyjamas on and Pete putting on his jeans, his shirt out in the living room. Pete just shrugged at her and the two walked out of the bedroom, Amber going to the door and Pete getting his shirt.

“Michael?” Amber asked and Pete turned his head to see Michael, Amber’s older brother, standing in the doorway. Michael had blood running down his chin and he was shaking.

“Can I please come in?” Michael asked and Amber turned to Pete who had pursed lips. She then stepped aside and the second Michael saw Pete, his eyes widened.

“Pete. We thought you were…. When did you get back?” Michael asked, wiping his chin.

“He’s been back for a while. He just didn’t make an appearance until a week ago.” Amber replied and Pete stared at Michael who stared back.

“So, what at are you doing at my sister’s apartment?” Michael asked and Amber smacked his arm.

“Stay out of my private life Michael. Why are you here?” Amber asked and Michael turned to her, Pete still staring hard at him.

“You killed someone didn’t you?” Pete asked and Michael and Amber turned to him.

“No.” Michael replied.

“So you almost killed someone?” Pete asked.

“Pete, I don’t think you get what you’re dealing with.” Amber said.

“Oh no I do. He’s a vampire.” Pete said and Amber’s and Michael’s eyes widened.

“How did you know that?” Michael asked and Pete glanced at Amber, giving her an apologetic look before looking back to Michael, staring at him intensely. Michael and Amber were slightly confused until Pete’s eyes turned bright red, making Amber gasp and Michael’s eyes widened. Pete’s eyes then went back to normal and he took a deep breath, looking between Amber and Michael, mostly looking at Amber.

“How long have you been a vampire?” Amber asked after a little while.

“Since I was 17.” Pete replied and Michael nodded.

“You were scared to come back. What made you change your mind?” Michael asked.

“My friend Cassie’s nephew. A few weeks ago, we had to turn him into a vampire and, as scared as he was, he said that the only thing he could think about was going back to his family. I didn’t have the guts at the time, but he made me change my mind. I didn’t think things would escalate to finding out my once best friends brother is also a vampire.” Pete said.

“Wait. How many vampires do you know?” Michael asked.

“When I first got turned I lived with 12 others. After I left them I…. I turned some people into vampires and now there are 6 of us.” Pete said.

“You turned people? Why?” Amber asked her fear showing on her face.

“Because they were dying. Danny had been torn apart by a pack of wolves and Cassie was dying from a car accident. Danny changed Freddie who had been stabbed and Freddie changed Millie who had also been stabbed and also Gabe who had been beaten almost to death. And if you must know, I’ve never killed anyone.” Pete said. Amber then took a deep breath and then looked up at Michael.

“You came here for a reason. What is it?” Amber asked, glancing at Pete who was standing still.

“I came by to ask if I can hide out here for a few hours. The guy I…… attacked was found and now they’re asking a bunch of questions to anyone who knows anything. He didn’t die, but the police found him so of course questions will be asked.” Michael said.

“Okay. You smell like smoke and alcohol though so go and take a shower.” Amber said and Michael nodded, glancing at Pete who still hadn’t moved before walking into the bedroom and going into the bathroom, some of his clothes in a drawer in Amber’s bedroom.

“Pete, why didn’t you tell me sooner?” Amber asked after they heard that the shower had started.

“It’s not the kind of information I tell people Amber. You know that.” Pete said and Amber nodded. She then slowly walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. He almost instantly held her tight and Amber sighed softly.

“Today has already been crazy and the day has barely started. Let’s hope that things don’t get any more insane.” Amber said and Pete nodded. If only that’s how the world worked.


	8. Chapter 8

It was 4pm and Freddie was lying on Sam’s bed staring at the roof, Sam pacing back and forth at the end of the bed.

“Do you think that I could get out of going with Pete to this bonfire thing?” Freddie asked.

“I don’t know. You can try, but from what I heard his family really wants you there.” Sam replied.

“I know, but you know how awkward I am around strangers.” Freddie said and Sam smirked.

“I am well aware. Look, it might be fun.” Sam said.

“How can it be fun when I know barely anyone?” Freddie asked and Sam sighed, sitting on the bed next to him and running a hand up and down his shin.

“Freddie, you got Pete back to his family after a painful 7 years. Just go meet these people so that they can appreciate you for who you are and what you did for them. Go and have fun for one night. You deserve it.” Sam said and Freddie sighed, rolling his head to the side to look at her.

“I just hope no one starts bleeding. I really don’t want to hurt anyone.” Freddie said. Sam just gave a small smile and then grabbed his hand, playing with his fingers.

“If someone does start bleeding, hold your breath and walk away. If someone asks, just tell them that blood makes you queasy.” Sam said and Freddie nodded, looking down at their hands and letting out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding.

“Freddie, do you ever think about leaving Seattle to start a new life away from everything?” Sam asked.

“Sometimes, but then I remember that starting over can be awfully lonely and hard and I look around me and think ‘It’s not worth losing everything just to get away.’ And then I go to the Groovy Smoothie and sit there for an hour going over everything good in my life.” Freddie replied.

“You do that every time you feel like running away?” Sam asked and Freddie looked up to meet her eyes.

“What’s the point on running away when it’s always more fun to have a Puckett around?” Freddie asked and Sam smiled, rolling her eyes, but blushing slightly. She then laid down next to him and rested her head on his shoulder, curling into his side as he wrapped his arm around her.

“Sometimes I think that it would be better if I just left and never came back.” Sam said as Freddie played with her hair.

“What makes you change your mind?” Freddie asked and Sam looked up at him.

“That’s for me to know and for you to find out.” Sam said before kissing him softly and then resting her head back on his shoulder.

3 hours went by before Freddie split from Sam and met up with Pete.

“You look kind of nervous.” Pete said as they walked around to the back of Andy’s house.

“I don’t like big crowds, especially when I know barely anyone in the crowd.” Freddie said and Pete smiled slightly.

“Believe me; these guys won’t force you to interact with them. I’m from a very awkward family myself. You’re not alone.” Pete said and Freddie nodded. The two then walked into the backyard and the second she saw them, Kayla’s face lit up.

“Pete. Glad you came. Hey Freddie. How are you?” Kayla asked as she briefly hugged Freddie.

“Good I guess.” Freddie replied and Pete smiled.

“Come on. Let’s go introduce you to everyone. They’re all dying to meet you.” Kayla said as she grabbed Freddie’s arm and Freddie glanced at Pete as Kayla dragged him over to where the others sat.

An hour went by and Freddie had resided to sitting next to an elderly lady named Elisa.

“You know, Andy never stopped looking for his son while he was gone. Every day he would get up and go looking. It got to the point where we were all just humouring him so he wouldn’t get mad. We were having a family dinner when you called him. He had it on loudspeaker. When you said that you knew where his son was, everyone’s lives changed drastically.” Elisa said.

(Flashback)

Andy, Elisa, Kayla, Ariel, Kayla’s cousin, Jason, Ariel’s brother, and Emma, Jason’s partner, were sitting around a dining table eating dinner, all of their plates filled with food. Everyone was joking and laughing about something as they ate.

“I can’t believe that you jumped on top of that car and took your shirt off.” Kayla said to Jason who smirked.

“I pride myself on being gutsy and crazy.” Jason said and Kayla rolled her eyes with a smile.

“You chucked your shirt at a puppy and then fell off of the car and broke your ankle.” Emma said, tapping the cast lightly with her foot and Jason grinned at her. Andy’s phone suddenly buzzed and he put it on loudspeaker, thinking it was work.

“Is this Andy Barton?” Came a male voice.

“Yes. Who is this?” Andy asked.

“My name is Freddie Benson and I have information on your son.” Freddie said and the room went dead silent.

“My son?” Andy asked.

“Peter Alexander Barton.” Freddie said and Andy’s eyes widened to saucers.

“Is he alive?” Andy asked.

“As alive as you and I.” Freddie said as everyone listened intently to the boy.

(End of Flashback)

“You had a huge impact on my family just by bringing Pete back to us.” Elisa said and Freddie stared at the flames.

“If I could be happy than why couldn’t he? Everyone deserves to be happy.” Freddie said and Elisa nodded.

“That is so very true.” She said before leaning back in her chair and sipping on her beer. Just 2 seats away from him to his right, Pete sat with Jason and Pete was poking him in his leg which still had a cast on it.

“I swear to god, if you keep this up I’ll push you into that fire.” Freddie heard Jason say and Pete just chuckled.

“You wouldn’t do that to me because then my dad would throw you in after me.” Pete said and Jason sighed, shifting his leg away from Pete. Pete just laughed and then relaxed back in his seat as he and Jason started up another conversation, Emma coming out. Freddie saw Pete instantly tense up and after a moment, Freddie understood why.

Emma had a cut across her arm and it was bleeding kind of badly. Pete looked over at Freddie just as he stood and walked away quickly, clenching his fist.

“Is he alright?” Elisa asked as Pete got up.

“He’s, uh, not good with blood. It makes him queasy.” Pete replied and then he went after Freddie, finding him inside sitting on the couch.

“You alright?” Pete asked.

“Other than the fact I almost pounced on Emma, I’m just peachy.” Freddie replied and Pete sighed. He then got an idea and went into the kitchen, coming back a minute later with a bottle of whiskey and a glass.

“Here. It’ll calm your nerves.” Pete said and Freddie cautiously took the glass, taking a sip before quickly downing it and staring at the glass.

“Here. Keep the bottle. It’s pretty strong though and I’m guessing you’ve never had alcohol before. I’ll be back in a little while to see how you’re going.” Pete said and then he went back to the back door, looking back at Freddie before going out to the others.

“Where’s Freddie?” Andy asked when Pete sat down.

“Inside. He isn’t feeling too good. Blood has a bad effect on him. How did you even cut your arm Emma?” Pete asked.

“I tripped while putting the trash in the bin and cut it on some metal. Good thing I got my shots.” Emma replied and Jason rolled his eyes before wrapping his arm loosely around her waist and pulling her closer.

“Hey Pete, is Freddie wearing red contacts?” Ariel asked when she walked outside an hour later, having gone to the bathroom. Pete’s head snapped up and he quickly got up and went inside, going over to Freddie who was standing in the kitchen looking around.

“Freddie, how much did you drink?” Pete asked, grabbing Freddie’s shoulders and looking at Freddie.

“Wow. Why’re you spin’n’?” Freddie asked in a slur and Pete sighed. He then noticed the empty whiskey bottle on the bench and he groaned.

“Did you drink the entire bottle?” Pete asked, holding one of Freddie’s arms so that he didn’t fall over.

“It tasted nice.” Freddie slurred, sniffing and then almost falling over.

“Wow. Okay. I’m taking you out of here so you don’t hurt yourself or someone else. Come on kid.” Pete said and then he and Freddie went out the back, Pete keeping hold of Freddie’s arm and stopping him from falling over.

“He overindulged on the whiskey so I’m going to take him home so that his mum won’t kill him. I’ll come by in the morning sometime.” Pete said.

“Okay. Have fun.” Andy said with a smile as he glanced at Freddie who was looking around like he was in fairy land.

“Oh I will.” Pete sighed and then he dragged Freddie away, getting him into the car. Pete then got in and drove away, watching as Freddie looked out of the window at the passing lights.

Instead of going to the cabin or taking Freddie home, Pete took him to amber’s apartment and when Amber opened the door and saw Freddie, she was more than happy to let them in.

“Okay. Is it cool if he crashes here tonight?” Pete asked quietly and Amber nodded.

“Don’t worry. He’ll regret this in the morning. How much of what did he drink?” Amber asked.

“An entire bottle of strong whiskey.” Pete replied and Amber sighed.

“He’s going to feel that in the morning.” She said and Pete nodded. The two then walked out of the bedroom, but that’s when they noticed that Freddie was missing and that the front door was opened.

“We’re in for a rough night.” Pete said and Amber nodded.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sam was sitting on the couch watching Girly Cow when she heard a knock on her door. Being cautious, Sam grabbed her butter sock and walked over to the door, slowly opening it to find Freddie.

“Oh. Hey Freddie. I thought you’d still be at the bonfire.” Sam said.

“Pete made me leave.” Freddie said, his words a little slurred but understandable.

“Are you drunk?” Sam asked, staring into his brown eyes.

“Pete’s fault ‘cause he gave me a bottle of whiskey.” Freddie replied, stumbling a little. Sam quickly grabbed his arms so he wouldn’t fall over and Freddie let his head drop to her shoulder, Sam suddenly holding him up.

“’M tired.” Freddie mumbled and Sam sighed. She then got him inside and sat him down on the couch before pulling his phone out and calling Pete.

“Hey Pete, it’s Sam. Freddie is sitting on my couch right now and he reeks of alcohol. Could you please come and get him before he decides to puke on my couch?” Sam asked.

“What’s you address?” Pete asked. 15 minutes later, Pete and Amber arrived at Sam’s house and Freddie was sitting on the steps outside of Sam’s house, his arms around her legs to stop her from leaving.

“Come on Freddie. Let her go. She needs some sleep too.” Pete said, but Freddie only clung tighter and frowned.

“No. If I go she goes.” Freddie said and Sam sighed.

“I’ll come if you let go of my legs.” Sam said and Freddie quickly let her go, standing up and then falling back down again.

“Wow. You okay there?” Pete asked as he helped Sam stand Freddie up.

“My mouth feels funny.” Freddie replied and Pete stood to the side.

“Come on. Let’s just get out of here.” Sam said and Pete nodded, the two pulling Freddie to the car and getting him inside before getting in themselves, Amber driving them back to her apartment. The entire drive, Freddie looked out of the window at the lights and Sam sat watching him in case he decided to leap out of the window at them.

“Alright. Let’s go and sit on the couch.” Pete said as he pulled Freddie into the apartment and Freddie just followed him, letting Pete push him to sit down on the couch, watching as Sam sat down next to him and Amber got him a glass of water.

“Okay. I’m going to call his mother and tell her that he’s crashing at the cabin. I’ll tell Cassie to cover for him because his mum will most likely call.” Pete said as he picked up Freddie’s phone and went out into the hallway. Amber then sat down on the armchair as Freddie finished drinking his glass of water and went to put it on the coffee table, completely missing and Sam catching it before it hit the ground.

“It’s really hot in here.” Freddie suddenly said as he rubbed his eyes and Sam raised an eyebrow.

“It’s cold in here Freddie.” Sam said.

“Sometimes drunk people get all hot because their mind plays tricks on them.” Amber said. Freddie then tried to take his short off, but Sam grabbed his hands.

“Leave your shirt on.” Sam said.

“But it’s hot.” Freddie whined, trying to get his hands free. He soon gave up though and then rubbed his eyes again.

“You tired?” Amber asked and Freddie shook his head, rubbing his eyes still.

“Stop rubbing your eyes or you’ll make them bruise up.” Sam said, pulling his hands away.

“But they’re hurting.” Freddie said, his eyes drooping slightly.

“That’s because you’re tired.” Sam said and Freddie whined.

“I don’t want to go to sleep.” He said and Sam sighed, turning to Amber.

“Why do I deal with him?” Sam asked and Amber smiled.

“Because he’d do the same for you.” Amber said and Sam sighed, sighing again when Freddie lay down and rested his head on Sam’s lap. Sam just leant back on the couch and grabbed one of Freddie’s hands, his fingers linking with hers as he closed his eyes and got comfortable. Amber watched as Sam just stared down at him with a small smile, their fingers staying linked together as Freddie fell asleep.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

It was late and Cassie and Danny were sitting wide awake on the couch in the cabin, the two sitting at the table with cups of coffee.

“I never found out why Pete turned you into a vampire. He never really explained it.” Cassie said suddenly and Danny looked up at her.

“Why do you want to know?” Danny asked.

“Well, you know mine. It’s just kind of mysterious that you’re the only one that hasn’t told why and how they became a vampire.” Cassie said and Danny sighed.

“I got bored one day and went on a walk through the woods. I was deep in the woods when this feral animal attacked me from behind. I never really knew what it was.” Danny said and Cassie rolled her eyes.

“Tell me the truth Danny. I won’t tell anyone if you don’t want me to.” Cassie said and Danny looked down at his coffee. 13 minutes went by and Cassie was about to give up and walk away when Danny spoke up.

“I was running. My dad was a cop and he was quite the abuser. He liked to feel power and he used his cop powers to his best ability. One day he came to my apartment and he was really angry. He didn’t like the fact that I wasn’t following in his footsteps and wasn’t training to be an officer. He shot his gun and almost clipped my shoulder. As soon as he had done that I ran for my life. We were running through the forest when he caught up to me and shot me three times. I was so filled with adrenaline that I kicked him in the face and ran for it. About 3 minutes later I lost my adrenaline and I was hit with dizziness. I fell and was barely alive when Pete found me. He instantly turned me and then we stayed there until I woke up. He explained to me what had happened and I just believed him. I was happy to have an excuse to get away from my dad. I mean, I am 24, but my dad still ran my life. I was glad to be able to get out and not have to worry about him being able to kill me.” Danny said and Cassie nodded, seeing the pain that he had in his eyes.

“You know, when people say that their parents were abusive, I’ve never heard of anyone classifying their dad shooting them in the gut abusive. That’s murder Danny.” Cassie said and Danny looked up.

“I know. That’s why I’m worried about Millie.” Danny said and Cassie frowned.

“Why are you concerned for Millie?” Cassie asked.

“Millie’s dad was abusive and believed in family honour right?” Danny asked and Cassie nodded.

“What if he was the one that stabbed her?” Danny asked and Cassie’s eyes widened. What if he had?


	9. Chapter 9

When Freddie felt himself waking up, his brain was telling him something wasn’t right, but it wasn’t until he opened his eyes and the light assaulted them, making his head suddenly feel as if someone had pounded it with a jackhammer.

“Morning sunshine.” Pete said and Freddie groaned, putting his arm over his eyes.

“Why did you let me near that whiskey bottle?” Freddie asked.

“You’re the one that drank the entire bottle.” Pete replied.

“Don’t talk so loud.” Freddie mumbled and Pete rolled his eyes.

“This is the first time he’s had a hangover Pete.” Amber said as she handed him a cup of coffee.

“It’s his own fault.” Pete muttered and Amber sighed, leaning into his side and wrapping an arm around him, his arm absentmindedly wrapping around her waist.

“Leave him alone.” Sam said as she walked out of the bathroom, going over to Freddie’s side and gently lifting his head before sitting down and resting it in her lap.

“Make my headache go away.” Freddie said to Sam and she sighed.

“Do pain killers work for vampires?” Sam asked and Pete shook his head.

“Not really. They just make us dizzy and it makes it harder to keep control.” Pete replied.

“What exactly happens if you lose control?” Sam asked.

“We become blood crazy and start killing random people. I’ve seen it happen and believe me, it’s not pretty.” Pete said.

“Have you ever lost control?” Amber asked and Pete put his coffee on the coffee table.

“Not really, but I did see someone lose it. I was 19 and me and a couple of the vampires I was living with were running around in the forest when we ran into some hunters. One of them was bleeding and we just sort of freaked out. I managed to stop myself right before I attacked them, but one of the others didn’t. They went insane and in just 10 minutes they had killed all 4 hunters. I had never seen anything more terrifying. It was like she was possessed. We got her back to where we were staying and next thing we knew we were burying her.” Pete said.

“She died?” Sam asked, her eyes wide.

“Our leader or boss I guess had to kill her. Once a vampire loses control there’s no going back. If there is I don’t think it’s ever been found.” Pete said. There was silence in the room for a few moments before Sam’s phone went off and made them jump, Freddie whining softly in his sleep.

“Carly said that Freddie’s mum is freaking out because she can’t get in touch with Freddie. That woman really is insane.” Sam said and Pete and Amber looked at each other, slightly confused and amused at the same time.

Over at the cabin, Cassie was pacing the cabin and Danny was watching her from the couch.

“You know, there’s going to be a hole in the ground soon if you don’t stop pacing.” Danny said and Cassie glared at him.

“What if Millie’s dad did stab her?” Cassie asked a moment later.

“Then we go from there. We can’t really do anything right now.” Danny said.

“Why not?” Cassie asked.

“Because it’s just a suspicion. It might not be the case at all.” Danny replied and Cassie sighed, continuing to pace the room.

“Okay seriously. Stop pacing. You might actually wear the floor away.” Danny said.

“I can’t help it. I’m nervous about this whole thing.” Cassie said, chewing in her thumb nail.

“You don’t need to be. Millie can take care of herself. We both know that.” Danny said.

“That’s what I’m worried about. We all know what Ben did just to protect her and Freddie got a knife in his side. What would Millie do if it turns out her dad was the one that stabbed her? She’s stronger then Ben now and probably her father as well. She could kill him and then what? What if she loses it? What if we then have to kill her? She’s so innocent and what if she suddenly goes crazy with revenge and tries to kill him?” Cassie asked and Danny quickly stood up and put his hands on her shoulders, knowing she was close to having a panic attack.

“Cassie, you need to calm down now. Freaking out won’t help anyone. We’ll deal with that if it comes to that, but until that happens, if it even happens, you need to calm down.” Danny said.

“I can’t. What if she goes on a killing spree and hurts her own brother or Sam or Carly or someone else? What if we have to end up killing her because she goes nuts and then-“ Cassie was cut off by Danny’s lips slamming to hers. Cassie stood in shock as his lips moved against hers, her lips not kissing back, but her head not moving away.

When Danny pulled back a few seconds later, he was stunned for a moment before he became very aware of what he had done and he stumbled back, shock on both his and Cassie’s faces. They were still standing like that when Millie and Gabe walked into the room and they instantly felt the awkward.

“What happened while we were out?” Millie asked and Cassie snapped out of her shock, realising they were there.

“N-nothing. We were just talking. What were you two doing?” Cassie asked, glancing at Danny who still looked shocked

“We just went out to get coffees. Danny, are you alright?” Millie asked, noticing his expression. Danny suddenly then went bright red before he quickly walked past Millie and Gabe and ran out of the house.

“Should we go after him?” Gabe asked.

“Just give him some space for a little while.” Cassie replied with a frown and Gabe and Millie shrugged before walking over to the couch and sitting down. Cassie just stared at the door, her mind running through what happened just moments ago.

2 hours later, Millie was sitting in a café waiting for Ben to arrive for brunch. Ben had said that he was bringing a surprise and Millie was nervous and excited as to who or what he was bringing. 

After 10 minutes of waiting, Millie was beginning to worry about where her older brother was. As she waited, she started drumming her fingers on the table, listening out as far as her hearing would let her for her brother’s arrival.

When Ben finally arrived at the café, Millie had been there for almost 45 minutes and she was annoyed. However, her anger almost completely dissolved when Ben walked in with a woman and a small child.

“I’m sorry it took me so long to get here Millie. I had to go to the train station to pick up these two and the train was running late.” Ben said and Millie smiled.

“It’s fine. Just glad you didn’t ditch. So who have you brought with you?” Millie asked.

“Right. Well, this is my wife Emma and our daughter Katie, your niece.” Ben said.

“Wait. When did you get married and have a kid?” Millie asked, shock on her face.

“Well, we got married last year and Katie was born about 6 months ago. I know it’s a bit of a shock.” Ben said and Millie shook her head.

“No. It’s cool. Just a little confused as to why you didn’t say something sooner. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you.” Millie said, giving Emma a quick hug.

“You too. Ben’s told me a lot about you. It’s so exciting to finally meet you.” Emma said and Millie smiled, all of them sitting down around the table, Katie sitting in Ben’s lap.

“So have you decided what you’re going to do for school in a couple of weeks?” Emma asked after a little while and Millie nodded.

“My friend Freddie enrolled me at his high school Ridgeway. He said that it’s really good except for 2 teachers, but I’m kind of excited to not be at a boarding school for once.” Millie said and Emma raised an eyebrow.

“Don’t you want to go back to boarding school?” She asked.

“Well, not really. I mean, I know I have only known Freddie, Sam, Cassie and the others for a little while, but they saved my life and they are really good people.” Millie said.

“Well, I haven’t heard much about them so why don’t you tell me what they’re like.” Emma asked.

“Well, Cassie is Freddie’s aunt and she is really sweet, but she can be tough when she needs to be which is awesome. Danny, he is the immature one of the adults, but he is also really fun and quite attractive. Pete is kind of like the dad of everyone and also the leader. He keeps us all in order and stops us from being stupid which is a difficult task with Danny. There’s also Gabe, the newest addition to our weird group and also a good friend from boarding school. He came down here to find me and he decided to stay down here. And then there’s Freddie. He’s a little bit older than me and he is the kindest person I’ve ever met. He puts everyone else first and rarely gives himself any thought. A couple weeks ago he saved my life and about a week ago he saved my friend Gabe’s. He is just all kinds of amazing.” Millie said.

“Do I sense a crush?” Emma asked.

“No. He is nice, but he’s more of the brother type for me. And even if I did he’s made it very clear he isn’t into me like that. He’s actually in love with this girl Sam who coincidently is one of his best friends. They do a web show called ICarly and they are amazing people. Just don’t get on Sam’s bad side because she is all kinds of tough.” Millie said.

“Hang on. You’re friends with the ICarly kids? That is amazing. I love that show. I watch it every week.” Emma said.

“It is freaking awesome. Just don’t be a crazy fan because they really don’t like them. Apparently Freddie got pulled into a massive crowd of girls at Webcon last year and then they also have this super fan called Mandy who sort of stalked them.” Millie said.

“I remember her. She was pretty weird.” Emma said and Ben and Millie smiled.

“Okay. Am I allowed to hold my niece now?” Millie asked, bouncing in her seat and Ben and Emma chuckled.

“Sure. Just don’t jump around so much while you’re holding her.” Ben said and Millie rolled her eyes as Ben handed Katie to her.

“Hello Katie. I’m your auntie Millie.” Millie said and Katie gave her a smile, grabbing her finger and then leaning into Millie.

“Awe. She likes you.” Emma said.

“Well duh. I’m awesome.” Millie said and Ben rolled his eyes with a smirk.

“So you said that Freddie is in love with Sam. Are they dating?” Emma asked.

“I’m honestly not sure. No one is. Carly says that they pretty much are a couple, they just don’t make out. No one even knows why they even broke up the first time anyway.” Millie said.

“Have you asked Sam or Freddie?” Ben asked.

“I asked Sam and she said it was none of my business and when I asked Freddie he just said that it was a mutual and that the rest was none of anyone’s business.” Millie replied.

“So it was mutual. They never actually clarified that.” Emma said.

“You do realise that you’re obsessed with them right?” Ben asked and Emma shrugged.

“At least I haven’t looked up their addresses and stalk them.” Emma said.

“She has a point.” Millie said before she turned her attention back to Katie.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

“Okay. Where the heck is Danny? He hasn’t been here all day.” Gabe said to Pete, Cassie, Freddie, Sam and Amber later that night, Sam and Freddie on the couch, Freddie with a headache and his head on Sam’s shoulder, Pete sitting on the armchair and Amber sitting on his leg, his arms around her, Cassie sitting on the couch next to Sam and Gabe standing up in the middle of the living room.

“He’s probably hiding out somewhere in the forest.” Freddie mumbled tiredly and Sam wrapped her arms around him.

“But where?” Gabe asked and Cassie stood up.

“I’ll go looking for him. I need to talk to him about something anyway.” Cassie said and the others nodded as she walked out of the cabin.

“I wonder what happened between them.” Amber said.

“I don’t know, but when Millie and I walked in this morning they were acting all weird before Danny went bright red and walked out. Cassie just told us to leave him be.” Gabe said.

“Do you think that maybe they kissed?” Sam asked.

“Probably. You can see they have feelings for each other, even if they can’t see it.” Freddie said and Pete, Gabe and Amber looked at each other.

“We’ve acknowledged our feelings thank you very much.” Freddie said, having noticed the looks.

“Then why don’t you do something about it?” Pete asked.

“That’s none of your business.” Sam replied and Freddie sighed, grabbing one of her hands and linking fingers with it, Pete, Amber and Gabe silently watching them.

20 minutes later deep in the forest, Cassie had just reached the lake that was hidden from anyone who didn’t know where it was and she could see Danny sitting in the shallow waters. Silently walking over, Cassie sat down next to him, not minding that she was sitting in the water.

“So this is where you’ve been hiding out all day.” Cassie said and Danny nodded.

“You came to talk about the kiss didn’t you?” Danny asked and Cassie shook her head.

“No. I mean, I am confused as to why you did it, but that’s not why I came out here. I was just wondering where you were.” Cassie replied and Danny looked down at the clear water.

“If you’re embarrassed about kissing me, don’t be. You did stop my panic attack.” Cassie said and Danny showed a small smile.

“Glad to be of some service.” Danny said and Cassie sighed. She then looked out at her surroundings and then made a small humming sound, making Danny look up at her.

“What?” Danny asked.

“It’s so peaceful out here. I can’t believe you ever even found it.” Cassie said.

“I used to come out here when I was little with my sister. We were hiding from our dad one day when we stumbled into the water and so we memorised the way and came here almost every weekend. When she said she was moving away, I ran away from her and came here. It felt like she was betraying me and leaving me to deal with our father alone. And she was, but for a different reason than I thought. She came back as much as she could and we would always come out here, even if I wouldn’t talk to her. When she stopped coming I was 17. The last time I heard from her was almost 18 months ago.” Danny said and Cassie looked down.

“If there’s one thing I know it’s that no matter what happened, you should try and get in touch with her because you don’t know how much time you have left to say that you love them.” Cassie said.

“Cass, I’m sorry.” Danny said, grabbing her hand and Cassie smiled, squeezing it.

“It’s fine. I admit, it does still hurt that he’s gone, but I’m not grieving anymore. It doesn’t hurt as much as it used to. I still have Freddie and Marisa, as crazy as she is. They’re my family and they’re still here. Why spend forever grieving when I have so many great people still with me?” Cassie said.

“Doesn’t it hurt to look at Freddie? You said he looks a lot like your brother.” Danny said.

“At first it did. When we would watch him in the shadows it hurt to see him, but I think that’s also because I couldn’t comfort him from what he saw.” Cassie said and Danny nodded.

“Do you think he’s roaming out there somewhere? Lost in the world and trying to find his way out?” Danny asked and Cassie shrugged.

“Maybe, but I know that he’s not really gone. I see him in Freddie every time I look at him. The sparkle in his eyes when he’s happy, his smile, the way he laughs, even the way he talks. I know that my brother is in him and I’m hoping that it always stays that way.” Cassie said.

“I never realised how good of a talker Freddie was. He gives some great advice.” Danny said and Cassie smiled.

“He has an old soul. His parents knew before he could even talk. You can see it in his eyes. People don’t tend to notice though because they don’t notice him.” Cassie said. She and Danny then sat in silence for a few minutes before Cassie absentmindedly rested her head on Danny’s shoulder, closing her eyes and breathing in deep.

While her eyes were closed, Cassie felt Danny move, but she didn’t open her eyes. When his hand softly rested on her cheek, she slowly opened her eyes and stared into his eyes, keeping hold of his hand as he leant in and softly kissed her. Cassie soon melted into it and pushed her lips more on his, moving her free hand to the back of his neck.

As their lips moved slowly together, their eyes fluttered closed and after a couple of minutes, Danny gently pushed Cassie down so that her back was in the water and he was leaning over her, their lips still moving together.

Stopping for a moment to look the other in the eye and get their breaths back, they both knew they were in deep. Leaning back down to kiss her, Danny grabbed her hand again and linked fingers, resting their hands in the water next to Cassie’s head, showing the beginning of something amazing.


	10. Chapter 10

It had been an hour since Cassie and Danny had gotten frisky in the lake and they were currently walking back to the cabin, both feeling giddy and euphoric.

“I wonder what the others say if they find out about… you know.” Cassie said as they walked and Danny smiled.

“Who knows. There’s a lot of things that could happen.” Danny said.

“What exactly do you think they’d do?” Cassie asked.

“Maybe they will scream, pass out, have a heart attack or be totally fine with it and not even care.” Danny replied and Cassie grinned.

“Do you want to tell them?” Cassie asked after a moment of silence and Danny stopped, the two turning to face each other.

“Do you?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I was just thinking that maybe it would be fun to sneak around. I mean, nobody knowing what we were up to and having fun without others bothering us.” Cassie said and Danny nodded, staring into her eyes. After a minute, Cassie begun to get a little worried and was about to ask what was wrong when he grabbed her hips and pulled her into him, their hips slamming together as he passionately kissed her. Cassie just smiled against his lips before wrapping her arms around his neck, feeling a rush when Danny pushed her backwards into a tree, their bodies pressed right against the others.

As Cassie was twisting her fingers through his hair, a rain drop fell on her forehead and they pulled away and looked up as rain started falling, quickly becoming heavy and falling through the tree tops and falling down onto the secret couple.

“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Cassie said, grabbing his hand and then pulling him with her, the two sprinting all the way back to the cabin and laughing hard as they walked in, both completely soaked.

“Where on earth have you two been?” Millie asked, handing them both towels to dry off.

“Well, it took ages to find him and then we just talked for a while and then it started raining.” Cassie said as Danny shook out his hair, the water flicking Cassie, Millie and Gabe who were standing around him.

“Shake away from us.” Gabe said and Danny smirked.

“Where’s Sam and Freddie?” Cassie asked a moment later, Amber handing her and Danny cups of coffee.

“Pete took them home and then went to get dinner. Freddie still has a headache.” Amber replied and Cassie nodded, sipping the coffee before putting it down on the table and then drying her hair with the towel.

“Alright. I’m going to go and get changed before I get a cold or something. Wait. Can vampires get colds?” Cassie asked and the others shrugged. 

“Ask Pete when he gets back. He’s like the vampire encyclopaedia.” Danny said.

“True. Where is he anyway? I’m starving.” Gabe said.

“When are you not?” Millie asked and he stuck his tongue out at her.

15 minutes later in Bushwell Plaza, Freddie was laying on the couch with the TV softly playing trying to sleep off his hangover. His head wasn’t pounding as much as it had been earlier, but it still hurt and he wished he could just take some pain killers to relieve the pain.

Freddie was just beginning to fall asleep when he was disturbed by a knock on the front door and he groaned, getting up and going over to the door, the light in the hallway hurting his head even more. When he finally got his bearings, he noticed a woman who looked mid-twenties in a black pant suit, a big black bag on her shoulder and her long black hair up in a ponytail.

“Hello. Are you Freddie Benson?” The woman asked.

“Yeah.” Freddie said, frowning slightly.

“My name is Jessica Lawrence. I was your father’s lawyer. May I please come in? I have some things to discuss with you. Unless this is a bad time.” Jessica said and Freddie shook his head.

“No. Come in.” Freddie said as he stepped aside, flicking the lights on as Jessica walked inside and he closed the front door, the two walking over to the kitchen table.

“Would you like a drink or something?” Freddie asked.

“No thank you.” Jessica replied with a smile and the two then sat down, Freddie feeling slightly uncomfortable as she pulled a file and some other papers out of her bag.

“So what exactly are you doing here?” Freddie asked and Jessica handed him the file.

“Your father’s will. He finalised it right before he died and you were the first name on his list to talk to.” Jessica said.

“My father died 6 months ago. Why is his will only being handed over now?” Freddie asked.

“It had to go through judges and be read over before we could hand it over.” Jessica replied and Freddie nodded before staring down at the file.

“If this is too hard right now I can come back later.” Jessica said and Freddie shook his head.

“It’s okay. I’m just… why am I the first person on his list of people to talk to?” Freddie asked.

“If you read his will you’ll find out.” Jessica said and Freddie sighed before opening the file, his eyes widening when he read over what it said.

“’I, Leonard Karl Benson, leave everything I own to my son Fredward Karl Benson.’ This has to be some sort of joke right?” Freddie asked Jessica and she shook her head.

“He told me that he wants to leave everything he owns to you. I asked him if he was sure before he came down to visit and he said yes and that I was to finalise it before he left for Seattle. When I heard about the accident I got straight onto sorting out his will and getting everything in order.” Jessica said as she pulled a yellow envelope out of her bag and set it on the table between her and Freddie.

“It has the keys to his apartment and a car that he was planning to give to you for your 18th birthday. His wallet and phone are already with you aren’t they?” Jessica asked and Freddie nodded.

“I got them from the coroners. But I don’t get why he left everything to me. Isn’t there someone else he wanted to give his stuff to?” Freddie asked.

“I asked him that hundreds of times and he kept saying he wanted to leave everything to you. He was very persistent about that. It was a little strange, but I just thought that it was because he hadn’t seen you in a while and he wanted to make sure that you got everything that you needed and I guess wanted.” Jessica said and Freddie stared down at the file.

“I’ll leave this stuff with you, but you do have to sign for it. You can decide what you do with it.” Jessica said and Freddie nodded, taking the pen and paper she had slid across the table and signing it before the two walked over to the door.

“I’m sorry about your loss. Losing someone can be hard, especially under the circumstances your father died in. But it will get easier.” Jessica said and Freddie gave her a weak smile.

“But when does it stop hurting?” Freddie asked and Jessica shrugged.

“I don’t think it ever does.” She said before she gave him a small, warm smile and then left, Freddie waiting a few moments before closing and locking the door, going back over to the table and staring down at the file and envelope before falling into the chair and holding back the tears that threatened to explode.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The next morning, Millie was sitting in her brothers hotel room with baby Katie sitting in her lap. She had gone to ask Ben if he wanted to get breakfast together to find that he had gone out to do some stuff and Emma and Katie had stayed behind so instead of leaving, Millie just stayed and watched Katie while Emma had a shower.

“Thank you so much for watching her. I really needed that shower. I didn’t sleep the best last night.” Emma said and Millie smiled.

“It’s cool. I’m getting to know my niece. I am going to be your favourite aunty okay?” Millie said to the baby and Emma laughed a little before she sighed.

“Millie, I just have to ask this but are you upset that Ben has a whole new family that you only just found out about?” Emma asked and Millie looked down at Katie.

“I’m not angry. I’m truly happy for him, for you and little Katie. But I do wish that he had of come and told me a lot sooner like when it was actually happening.” Millie said and Emma nodded, going and sitting on the couch next to Millie.

“I can’t imagine how hard it must have been when he ran away. It must have been awful.” Emma said and Millie nodded, putting Katie in the play pen and sitting back down.

“It was. He used to protect me from our father. When he ran, for a long time I was angry at him. I told people it was because he left us when he should have stayed, but really I was angry because he didn’t take me with him. I mean, I was little but I knew what was going on. I spent a long time blaming him for a lot of what I went through.” Millie said.

“Did you tell him that when he came down here to see you?” Emma asked and Millie shook her head.

“I don’t think I ever will tell him, mainly because I don’t blame him now. I think it just bothers me that he had already started a new life and I was still waiting for him to return to come and get me.” Millie said.

“Millie, he’s always going to be your big brother and he really regrets not having you at the wedding and being there when Katie was born. He just thought that by shutting you out it would keep you safe.” Emma said.

“To me, he’s more than a brother. He’s the father I never really had. He was the one that made sure I was dressed and bathed and put to bed at night. He was the one that made sure I had eaten and had something to drink. He was my hero and my saviour and he just left me behind to fend for myself. That’s why I was so angry. Hero’s aren’t supposed to leave you in bad places like that. It took me a while to realise that he was doing what he thought was best.” Millie said, a lone tear rolling down her cheek.

“Maybe you should tell him this. It might help to get it off your chest and talk to him about it.” Emma said and Millie shook her head, wiping the tear off of her face.

“No. I don’t want him to know that. It’ll make him more cocky then he already is.” Millie joked and Emma smiled before grabbing Millie’s hand and squeezing.

“One day, even if you don’t want to, you should just sit down with Ben and discuss everything the two of you went through with your dad. I know that it will be hard and that you probably won’t want to do it, but it’s something that you two both need to do. No one else can understand better what the two of you went through other than each other. Make him listen while you tell him everything you felt and the anger you had and still have about things and let him help you move past all of this. Just don’t wait too long to tell him the truth on how you felt when he was gone.” Emma said and Millie gave her a strange look.

“Are you some type of counsellor or something?” Millie asked and Emma chuckled.

“Why don’t I call Ben and the two of you can go spend the morning talking about something and getting to know each other even more. I think it might help once you get to know him a little bit more.” Emma said and Millie nodded before taking Emma slightly by surprise and hugging her.

“You’re a great person for my brother. He really needs you in his life.” Millie said quietly and Emma squeezed her a little before the two pulled away and smiled at each other.

Later that night, Gabe, Freddie, Danny and Pete were walking down the street preparing for a hunt and Gabe, Danny and Pete were noticing that Freddie’s mind seemed to be somewhere else.

“You alright?” Gabe asked as they walked behind the two adults and Freddie sighed.

“Just tired. Had a bit of a long night last night.” Freddie replied.

“Doing what? I thought you were sleeping off a hangover.” Gabe said.

“I was, but some stuff just came up and I-.” Freddie’s words were cut off by a muffled scream that came from the alley a short distance in front of them and, after all looking at each other, the 4 vampires walked over to the alleyway and almost instantly the smell of blood filled their nostrils.

“What’s happening down here?” Pete called out and a man with messy blond hair, green eyes and a knife in his hand turned his head to look at them, his hand covering a young girls mouth who was pinned against the wall by the man.

“Nothing. We’re just having a little fun aren’t we?” The man asked the girl in a rough voice and the girls sobs were muffled by the man’s hand. Danny then turned his head to look at Freddie to see a strange look on his face, his fists clenched and his eyes red.

“Why don’t you kids run along and pretend that we never had this little chat?” The man asked, but before Pete could reply, Freddie suddenly sprinted at the man and grabbed the back of his shirt, ripping him from the girl and throwing him against the opposite wall.

“Kid, run as fast as you can away from here and don’t look back.” Pete said to the girl and she nodded before she quickly ran out of the alleyway, her scared sobs following her.

“Freddie, what are you doing?” Gabe asked and Pete turned to see Freddie holding the man around the neck and pinning him against the wall.

“Freddie, let him go. You’ll kill him.” Danny said, but Freddie didn’t let go. Instead, he just leant down and bit into the man’s neck, the horrified green eyed blonde desperately trying with all of his might to push him off. After a good 3 minutes, green eyes was basically unconscious, but Freddie wasn’t loosening his grip and Pete, Danny and Gabe were scared of the teens sudden attack.

“Freddie, let him go. You’ll kill him.” Gabe said, but as he went to touch his arm, Freddie dropped green eyes and spun around, taking Gabe by surprise and grabbing his shirt before throwing him back into the dumpster, a feral snarl coming from his mouth.

“Snap out of it.” Danny yelled as he and tried to grab Freddie only to get punched in the face and then shoved into Pete, Freddie growling before turning back to green eyes, picking him up by his neck, his blood getting all over his hands and down his arms. Just as he was about to bite back into his neck, Pete and Danny grabbed his arms and pulled him away from him, green eyes sliding down the wall and leaving a blood trail in his wake.

“Let me go.” Freddie screamed as he tried to break free of the hold on him, Gabe coming up and standing in front of him with a worried look.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” Gabe asked and Freddie growled, trying to lunge at him only to be held back. Gabe then looked to Danny and Pete before he sighed.

“Sorry about this Freddie.” Gabe said before he raised his fist and punched Freddie hard in the face, making him freeze in shock. A moment later, Freddie turned back to look at him with a shocked look on his face as his eyes faded back to brown.

“Freddie? You back yet?” Gabe asked, but before Freddie could answer, his knees suddenly gave out under him and he collapsed, his arms falling out of Danny’s and Pete’s grips as he fell onto the floor face first. Quickly kneeling down, Pete rolled him onto his back to find Freddie’s eyes closed and his head all limp, blood running down the side of his face from the corner of it.

“Check the guy. We need to get him to hospital.” Danny said to Gabe who nodded and pulled out his phone as he went and checked green eyes pulse.

“Freddie, can you hear me?” Pete asked as he rolled him onto his side in case he choked on the blood in his mouth. There was no answer from Freddie for a good 2 minutes before his eyes began to flutter, both slowly opening to reveal big chocolate brown eyes.

“W-what happened?” Freddie asked as he sat up, using his shoulder to wipe what he thought was drool. However, as he was wiping his face, he looked down at his hands and his eyes widened when he saw the blood. Looking up at Pete and noticing that he was looking behind Freddie, he turned his head and gasped when he saw green eyes.

“Di-did I do that?” Freddie asked and when Danny nodded with a sympathetic look, a horrified look filled Freddie’s face as he stared down at his hands.

“Freddie, he’s going to be fine.” Gabe said as Freddie shakily got his feet and walked slowly backwards out of the alley staring at his hands.

“I’m a monster.” Freddie whispered before he suddenly spun around and sprinted away, Gabe about to go after him only to be stopped by Pete.

“Let him go. I think I know where he’s going.” He said and Gabe sighed.

15 minutes later, Sam was eating her last fatcake before bed when a frantic came from the door and, knowing by the knocks that it was urgent, went over to the door to find Freddie with tears in his eyes and a horrified look on his face.

“Oh my god. What happened?” Sam asked as she pulled him inside, trying not to look at the blood on his arm and hands.

“I almost killed someone.” He said and Sam sat him down on the couch before going and getting a cloth.

“Tell me what happened.” Sam said.

“I can’t remember. I blacked out all of a sudden after I heard this like muffled scream and when I woke up I was covered in blood and there was a guy behind me almost dead and Danny said that it was me.” Freddie sobbed as the tears started rolling down his cheeks.

“What if it wasn’t actually you and he just said it was?” Sam said.

“It was me because Gabe and Pete were there and I was the only one covered in blood. I almost killed someone. I’m a monster.” Freddie said.

“Hey. You are NOT a monster. You made a mistake. I’m sure Pete and Danny have done the same thing, probably have even killed someone by accident.” Sam said.

“But they haven’t. I’m the only one and I can’t even remember it happening. I’m a monster and, and a horrible person.” Freddie said and Sam shook her head.

“You are an amazing person and this one thing isn’t going to change that.” Sam said.

“But it’s every time. Oh my god. What if I hurt you or Carly or my mum? I’m a monster.” Freddie sobbed, but before he could get up or really even move, Sam pushed him down onto the couch and pinned him down, his sobs wracking his entire body as Sam leant over him.

“You listen to me and you listen carefully. You are not a monster. It wasn’t an accident and you didn’t even know what you were doing. You are the most amazing person I know and you will never, ever become a monster in my eyes. I love you so much and I will always make sure that you see yourself as the amazing person you are and not the monster you think you are.” Sam said.

“But what if I kill someone? If I black out again then how can I stop it from happening?” Freddie asked through his sobs and Sam let go of his arms, putting her hands on his cheeks and staring into his eyes.

“Try and get control of your mind and block out everything around you until you come back to normal. No matter what happens though, I am always going to love you.” Sam said before she leant down and softly kissed him, Freddie kissing back after a moment, his tears getting mixed into the kiss. A moment later, Sam’s hands moved up to twist into his hair and his moved to sit on her hips, pulling her closer to him and more into him.

After a few minutes, the two pulled apart, but after staring into each other’s eyes for a moment they both leant back into each other, their lip moving in sync as Freddie sat up and then stood up, Sam’s arms and legs wrapping around him as they made their way upstairs.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The early morning sun shone in through the window and over the young couple laying in the bed, the sheet tangled up in their legs and around their bodies.

Flinching as the sun hit his eyes, Freddie slowly woke up, his arm around Sam tightening slightly, pulling her even closer to him. Opening his eyes, Freddie sighed softly as the memory of the previous night filled his mind, softly kissing Sam’s shoulder before sighing again and then going to get up only to have a stabbing pain suddenly hit a little bit higher than the middle of his back. Pulling on his jeans from last night and ignoring the pain, Freddie walked across the hall to the bathroom and checked his back out in the mirror. Instead of the clear tan skin that his back usually was however, a swirl from a triskelion (If you don’t know what that is, look it up) was there as if it had been tattooed on.

Having a sudden moment of panic, Freddie tried to remember what he had done before he had fallen asleep, but only one thing came to mind and Sam was there the entire time. Taking a deep breath before a panic attack started, Freddie sat down on the edge of the bath and closed his eyes.

“Okay. Just cover it up and try and remember before I say anything. That works.” Freddie whispered to himself after a minute of thinking. Nodding to himself, Freddie stood up and splashed his face with cold water before going back across the hall to Sam’s room and picking up a shirt that he had left there a few days earlier when he had fallen asleep while watching movies. He then picked up his phone to see a few messages from Cassie, Millie and Gabe asking where he was and if he was okay.

Knowing he would need to go see them before going home to get changed and figure out why he had the tattoo, he crawled up the bed and laid behind Sam over the sheets, wrapping an arm around her and kissing her neck, making her stir.

“What are you doing?” Sam mumbled a moment later and Freddie kissed her bare shoulder.

“Cassie is looking for me.” Freddie said and Sam nodded, linking fingers with the arm around her.

“When do you have to go?” She asked and Freddie sighed.

“Pretty much now. She’ll send a search party otherwise.” Freddie said and Sam nodded before turning around in his arms and then resting her palm on his cheek.

“How are you feeling?” Sam asked and Freddie shrugged.

“Happy, confused, worried. I’ll be alright though. I’ll send you a text when I get to the cabin and then I’ll be going home to prepare myself for next week. What are your plans for today?” Freddie asked and Sam sighed, wrapping her arm around his neck and resting her forehead against his.

“Eating, TV and going to Carly’s. I might even drop by at your apartment to see if your brain has fried.” Sam said and Freddie smiled, leaning in and kissing her softly, running his fingers through her hair before pulling away and leaning over.

“I’ll see you later.” He said before he got off the bed and walked over to the door, looking back at her and smiling before leaving and shutting the door behind him.

That night, Freddie was sitting at his desk in his bedroom on his laptop while rubbing his back where the tattoo had suddenly appeared was, using the internet to try and figure out why it was there.

When there was a knock on the door, Freddie closed his laptop and stopped rubbing his back just as Sam walked in.

“Hey. I see your brain didn’t explode then.” Sam said as she closed the door behind her and Freddie rolled his eyes.

“I was just looking around on the internet about nothing.” Freddie replied and Sam nodded as she sat on the bed, frowning when she saw the papers on the bedside table and the yellow envelope.

“What’s this?” Sam asked and Freddie quickly got up and grabbed them before she could.

“It’s just some stuff to do with my dad. I’m not really ready to share it quite yet.” Freddie said as he put it in his desk drawer and Sam nodded.

“That’s okay. How have you held up today?” Sam asked and Freddie shrugged, going and sitting next to her against the headboard.

“Well, Cassie was glad to see that I was alive and so was Millie and Gabe. I asked Pete if he knew how the guy was going and Pete said that he was doing alright, but was under surveillance which I guess isn’t too bad. It was Gabe that seemed to be the most worried and I found out that it was because he punched me in the face to snap me out of whatever trance I was in. It’s weird that I don’t have a bruise or something.” Freddie said.

“I thought vampires just healed fast.” Sam said.

“Well, yeah, but we still bruise, just only for like a day or maybe 2.” Freddie said and Sam gave a small smile before she grabbed his hand in hers and fell silent.

“I know this might be stupid, but where exactly are we?” Sam asked and Freddie shrugged.

“What do you want us to be? I know what I want, but what do you want?” Freddie asked. Sam then stared at him for a moment before she lifted one of her hands and grabbed his chin, turning his head to face her before she leant in and kissed him softly.

“You do realise we have to tell Carly right?” Freddie said when she pulled away and Sam nodded.

“But that can wait until tomorrow. I just want to spend tonight laying here and talking about everything and nothing until we fall asleep or get bored and put a movie on.” Sam said and Freddie smiled.

“Can do Princess Puckett.”

At 3am, Sam and Freddie were both fast asleep facing each other over the covers and they both seemed peaceful and calm. However, in Freddie’s mind, the nightmare playing in his head was anything but pleasant.

The girl stood cleaning one of the exhibits in a museum that were closed that day. Everything seemed perfectly fine, but in the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow enter the room and turning around to see who it was, she was surprised to see that the room was empty other than her. Putting it down to her imagination, the girl went back to cleaning, her head snapping back up a moment later when she felt piercing eyes on the back of her skull.

“Who’s there?” She called out, slowly looking at every corner of the room. when she couldn’t see anyone, an uneasy feeling heavily settled in her, but putting it down to superstition, she just turned around and went back to cleaning. And that’s when the black figure leapt out from behind the door and leapt on her, a loud scream filling the air before it all went black

Shooting into a sudden sitting position, a heavily breathing Freddie looked around the room to see that he was in his bedroom and Sam was sitting up next to him, a tired but worried look on her face.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked.

“Th-there was this girl and she was in a museum somewhere cleaning and this thing leapt out at her. It was blurry, but it looked like a person.” Freddie said and Sam put a hand on his shoulder.

“Freddie, it was just a dream okay? No one is going to hurt any girl, especially in a museum where there are hundreds of security cameras.” Sam said.

“It seemed so real though.” He said and Sam wrapped an arm around him and kissed his neck, resting her chin on his shoulder and smiling when he turned his head to look at her.

“Come on. Let’s get back to sleep baby. It was just a dream.” Sam said and Freddie nodded before the two laid back down facing each other with their arms around the other and closed their eyes in an attempt to go back to sleep.

If only it was just a dream.


	11. Chapter 11

“I can’t believe it’s the first day of school. And of senior year. We’re officially seniors.” Carly said excitedly as she and Sam walked into school, both going over to their lockers that they both managed to get back and Sam groaned.

“You are way too excited about this year. It’s really not so amazing. It’s just the beginning of another year that I will spend sleeping through.” Sam said.

“Sam, you have to try this year. It’s our last year of school before college. Don’t you want to make something out of yourself?” Carly asked and Sam rolled her eyes.

“Don’t you start. Freddie already started that up last night.” Sam said.

“How is it going between you two anyway? Has it been fun in love land?” Carly asked with a grin as the girls opened their lockers.

“It’s going great. His mum was definitely not all that happy with it, but other than that it’s been alright for the week we’ve been together.” Sam replied and Carly smiled.

“You love him.” Carly said and Sam’s cheeks went slightly pink, a scowl on her face.

“Shut up Shay.” She snapped and Carly giggled as Wendy and Brad walked over to them.

“Hey guys. How has it been? Where’s Freddie? Did you enjoy your summer vacation?” Brad asked and Carly smirked.

“Did you hear the amazing news? Sam and Freddie are dating again.” Carly said in a sing song voice and Brad and Wendy turned to Sam who was turning a light shade of red.

“Oh my god. That’s amazing news. Congratulations. How is he going after the whole thing with his dad?” Wendy asked.

“He’s definitely doing much better. Pretty much normal.” Sam said and Wendy nodded.

“That’s good. Where is he anyway?” Wendy asked, but before Sam could answer, the school doors opened and Freddie walked in, Millie and Gabe walking either side of him and all three talking and laughing.

“They were crying, like actually crying. It was so hilarious.” Carly, Sam, Wendy and Brad heard Gabe say, watching as Millie and Freddie laughed, both seeming to be struggling to walk straight.

“What’s so funny?” Carly asked as they reached the small group, Freddie and Millie still laughing slightly.

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Gabe said in a way that made Freddie and Millie laugh more, Freddie leaning against the wall and burying his face in his hands, his body shaking.

“Who are your new friends?” Brad asked when Freddie and Millie had calmed down and Millie giggled again.

“Wendy, Brad, these are my friends Gabe and Millie. Gabe, Millie, this is Brad and Wendy, 2 other friends of mine.” Freddie said as he went and stood next to Sam, taking her hand in his as Gabe and Millie waved slightly at Wendy and Brad.

“Morning.” Sam said to Freddie who grinned and leant down to kiss her, pulling away a few seconds later before wrapping an arm around her, Sam smiling up and him and leaning slightly into him.

“You two are so cute together.” Carly said and Sam rolled her eyes.

“You guys are going to love it here. Except if you have classes with Ms Briggs or Mr Howard.” Wendy said and Sam groaned.

“I wish they would just disappear.” Sam said.

“At least it’s only one more year.” Carly said.

“Come on. They can’t be that bad.” Millie said, but as she spoke, Mr Howard walked into the hallway, running into a small junior with glasses and braces, her hair up in 2 braids.

“Move along or I’ll send you to detention.” Mr Howard barked and the girl dropped her jaw open.

“But sir, that’s not fair. I didn’t even do anything.” The girl said.

“Detention for back chatting. Now get to class.” Mr Howard growled before walking off, knocking the girls books to the floor, Freddie sighing before splitting from Sam and going over to help the girl pick up her books.

“Here. Let me help.” He said as he bent down to pick up a few of her books and she gave him a small smile.

“What’s your name? Mine’s Freddie.” Freddie asked.

“I know. I watch ICarly. My names Bianca.” Bianca said and Freddie smiled as he handed her the books, the two standing up.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Bianca. I’m guessing you’re new here right?” Freddie asked and Bianca nodded.

“My first year of high school. I don’t know anyone here.” She said.

“I know how scary that can be so don’t worry okay? You’ll be alright. Mr Howard is just a grumpy old man so be careful and try your best to stay out of his way okay?” Freddie said and Bianca nodded.

“If you need anything come and find me okay? I’ll see you around.” Freddie said with a big smile before turning around and walking back to the group, Bianca walking past with a smile on her face before she hurried up the stairs to class.

“That was so sweet.” Millie said and Freddie smiled again.

“I know how it feels to be her so I figured I might as well help. The only difference was my tormentor was Sam, not Mr Howard.” Freddie said.

“That’s because you were a huge nerd.” Sam replied and Freddie rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arm around her again.

“We should probably go to the office and get checked in.” Millie said and the others nodded. Before Millie could ask someone to show her where to go however, the speaker system made a noise of a mic turning on and Principal Ted Franklin’s filled the halls.

“Could Freddie Benson please make his way to my office? Thank you.” Ted said before the speakers turned off and the group turned to Freddie who looked confused.

“Sam, what did you do?” Carly asked.

“Nothing. I haven’t had a chance to yet. Want me to come with you?” Sam asked Freddie who just shook his head.

“No. You get to class and I’ll meet you there. I’ll show you two where to go on my way to the principal’s office. The registration office is right next door to it.” Freddie said and Gabe and Millie nodded, Freddie giving Sam a quick kiss before the three split off and walked down the hall.

“Do you think someone might have seen us last night?” Millie asked as they walked.

“They couldn’t have. We had our faces hidden the entire time and were in a part of town that no one I know lives.” Freddie said.

“But what about someone you don’t know that goes here?” Millie asked.

“Millie, don’t panic. If someone saw anything I’ll figure something out so don’t worry. And it’s probably just Principal Franklin wanting to talk to me about my schedule this semester.” Freddie said and Millie sighed.

“I guess that’s true.” She said and Freddie gave a weak smile before slowly down, stopping in front of a door and turning to Gabe and Millie.

“Here’s the registration office. I’ll catch you guys either in class or at lunch.” Freddie said and the two nodded.

“Shout if you need anything.” Gabe said before he and Millie walked into the office and Freddie took a deep breath before walking into the next door, nodding at the assistant before knocking on Ted’s door.

“Come in.” He called and Freddie walked in, closing the door behind him and then sitting down on one of the chairs.

“Good morning Freddie. How were your holidays?” Ted asked.

“They were alright. Good to be back. How were yours?” Freddie asked.

“They were wonderful thank you. Now, I bet you’re wondering why you’re here.” Ted said and Freddie nodded.

“First off, how have things been since your father passed away?” Ted asked and Freddie shrugged.

“It was hard at first but it’s getting better.” Freddie said and Ted nodded.

“That’s good. Now onto why I called you here, last night I happened to come into the office to make sure that everything was alright for today and I found these.” Ted said, getting up and opening his cupboard to reveal several large sacks full of stuff.

“Large sacks?” Freddie asked, raising an eyebrow and making Ted smile.

“Yes, but it’s what’s in them. It’s a lot of letters and small gifts from ICarly fans. I happened to look at one of the teddy’s in there and it was a condolence over your fathers passing. There’s 6 large bags full of letters and candy and teddies and I believe there are still more coming.” Ted said and Freddie’s jaw dropped.

“Oh my god. I only told people like 2 days ago.” Freddie said.

“Apparently lots of people love you. Actually, my daughter asked me to give you something.” Ted said, going over to his desk and opening a draw before pulling out a smallish box and a card, handing them to Freddie who sat the box in his lap and opened the letter.

Dear Freddie,I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for what happened to your father. I know that this can’t bring him back, but I hope it can start to make you feel better. I’m starting at Ridgeway this year so maybe we’ll run into each other in the hallway or something which would make my day. But while I feel for you, I guess I don’t know how you feel. It must be hard to know that you won’t see them again. Unless you count dreams.I really hope you do feel better soon. Just know that we’re all thinking of you.Tayla Franklin

Smiling slightly, Freddie put the letter down and opened the box to reveal a silver chain with a cross pendant on it, making him smile slightly wider.

“Since this is a more personal task, I am giving you permission to go home and go through most of this.” Ted said and Freddie looked up at him.

“But it’s the first day of school; senior year at that.” Freddie said and Ted smiled.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll send your homework home with Carly Shay if you get any and I’ll cover for you.” Ted said and Freddie smiled at his headmaster.

“Thank you sir.” Freddie said as he stood up, putting the box and letter carefully in his bag.

“No worries. I’ll help you carry these sacks out and then you can head home.” Ted said and Freddie nodded, the two going over to the cupboard and getting the sacks out, each dragging 3 out and getting them to Freddie’s car, putting 2 in the boot and 4 in the back seat.

Sitting in the driver’s seat of his car in front of the school, Freddie was typing a message on his phone to Sam.

Freddie: Hey. Just wanted to let you know that I wasn’t feeling too well and I’m heading home.

It was almost a minute later when Sam’s reply came through and Freddie sighed.

Sam: Okay. Want me to come with you? And what’d Franklin want?

Freddie: He just wanted to see how I was going with my dad. And I’ll be okay. :)

Sam: Okay. If you decide otherwise you know where I am.

Freddie: I know baby :). See you later.

Putting his phone on the passenger seat, Freddie turned the engine on and then drove out of the car park and onto the street, driving to Bushwell and going into the parking garage before taking the sacks up to his apartment 2 at a time.

Sitting on his bedroom floor, Freddie pulled out the first small box and, letting out a long breath, he used a pocket knife he had gotten from Sam for his last birthday and cut the tape. Inside of the box sat a snow globe with a castle with the word ‘LOVE’ written on the ground in front of the castle, a letter folded up inside.

Dear FreddieI know how it feels to lose someone you love and I just want you to know that it will get easier over time. I know that it hurts and that there’s a hole where they belonged but remember that you can always find them again, even if it’s just in your dreams. He’ll always be there to watch over you and just know you aren’t alone. Just remember that.I love you and I’m glad that this tragedy hasn’t stopped you from living your life. Don’t let it pull you down because your father is still with you, in you. I hope that you feel better about this soon.Clara Maborough

Smiling slightly, Freddie shook the snow globe and watched the snow fall in the globe before setting it to the side, the letter sitting underneath it.

For the next 3 hours Freddie sat and opened gifts and letters, everything sorted into piles. There was a pile of teddies, one of a bunch of bracelets and necklaces and chains, one of snow globes and one of letters that had questions that Freddie intended to answer, some letters asking for advice on things.

At that moment, Freddie was reading through a young boys letter and tears were rolling down his cheeks as he read the problems that the boy had and had told him about. Just as he was finishing reading, his phone went off and he took a moment to wipe the tears away before he answered the phone.

“Hey Sammy.” Freddie said.

“Hey baby. How you feeling?” Sam asked and Freddie sighed.

“Alright I guess. I’m going through letters and gifts that fans sent me. That’s why I really came home. Franklin let me leave early with six sacks full of letters.” Freddie said.

“Six sacks? You must be drowning. You doing alright?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. Some letters are actually not just condolence letters and are serious issues that people want advice on. Some are making me sort of upset because of how bad they are but I’m going to be alright and power through.” Freddie said.

“If it gets too much don’t force yourself to read anymore alright?” Sam said and Freddie smiled.

“I won’t. I promise. What are you up to?” Freddie asked and Sam groaned.

“Trying to find an excuse to get out of our next class. It’s Mrs Briggs.” Sam said.

“Sam, it’s one period. I’m sure you can handle it. You know you have to start trying this year.” Freddie said.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t you start on that one again. I have to go now, but I’ll see you later.” Sam said.

“Okay. Bye. Love you.” Freddie said.

“Love you too.” Sam said and Freddie smiled before he hung up and sighed.

“This is gonna be a long, long day.”

A little bit later in the bedroom in the cabin, Cassie and Danny were laying there with nothing but a sheet covering them, both laying their sides facing each other.

“Imagine if Pete walked into the room right now?” Cassie asked and Danny smiled.

“Then he would be in for a massive shock wouldn’t he? Don’t worry. I can blackmail him to stay quiet.” Danny said and Cassie sighed, resting her head on her hand.

“I was wondering, why do you never mention your sister? I mean, I know you two were close and have now lost touch, but why don’t you ever talk about her?” Cassie asked and Danny looked down at her arm, his fingers lightly running up and down the skin.

“On my tenth birthday, my sister and I went to the lake and, even though she was only 9, she gave me a glass dolphin that she had gotten for me out of her own pocket money. I had gotten a bad lashing the night before and it hurt to breath, but she just told me that out there I could let my spirit free and let it all go and let God show me where to go. When I said that it was impossible she told me to close my eyes and pretend I was somewhere that I really wanted to be so I did. What I conjured up was a green hill that overlooked this beautiful view of fields and a lake. It was a picnic and my sister was there. It took me a minute to realise that my mother was there too and when I opened my eyes and realised she wasn’t there I cried. My sister just told me that I could always find her again as long as I have a happy place. It’s always been the same and I’m always with my mum and sometimes still my sister. I just wish I knew what happened to her.” Danny said and Cassie frowned.

“You don’t know what happened to her?” Cassie asked.

“When I was 18 she just stopped coming to visit me and it’s been over a year since I last spoke to her so I have no idea what she looks like now. She cut off all contact one day and I haven’t heard from her since.” Danny replied and Cassie looked down for a moment.

“I don’t know what it feels like to not know what happened to someone, but don’t let it eat you away. If you want to find her, ask Freddie and see if he’ll help. I mean, he got Pete back in touch with his family when he barely knew him.” Cassie said.

“All I want to know is if she’s alive and then I won’t be so bothered anymore.” Danny said and Cassie ran her fingers over his cheek and then through his soft hair, his eyes closing as she did this.

“You’re tense.” Cassie noted a minute later and Danny sighed.

“I always get tense when I talk about family. I don’t have the best history with them.” Danny replied and Cassie sighed before leaning down and softly kissing over a scar across his bicep, her lips trailing over it before she kissed his lips, her fingers getting tangled in his hair as it got deeper and deeper.

*****************************

As the day progressed and the stacks of letters and gifts got more and more, Freddie got more tired and by the time the others had gotten back to the Shay’s, he had fallen asleep on his bedroom floor, exhausted from all the reading and crying he had done in the last few hours.

However, instead of peaceful happy dreams that he wished he could have, Freddie only got the nightmare. Only this time was more intense.

The young woman screamed loudly as the figure pinned her to floor. She tried to fight him off but was so overpowered that she didn't stand a chance at getting free.

"Please." The woman pleaded "Please, let me go."

With one swift and fluid motion, the figure bite down on the woman's neck and started to suck the blood out of her. She lets out a gasp as her blood was draining from the bite and tries to push him off, slowly losing consciousness from the blood loss.

Right as her blood is about to be completely drained, a security guard rushes into the room with his flash light in hand.

"Hey! Who's in here?" The guard called out in the dark room.

The figure turns to face him and the guard sees the eyes hidden behind the mask that covered the top half of his face, a hood over his head. His eyes glowed bright red and fresh blood stained his lips and ran down his chin.

The guard saw that the figure had the woman's limp body in his arms. "Oh god, no."

The figure drops the woman and rises to his feet. Like a lion stalking its prey, he advances on the guard with an animalistic instinct. 

The guard pulls out his gun and points it at him. "Stay back! I'm warning you! I will shoot you!"

The hood let out a low snarl and continued to make his way to the man.

"I mean it, I will drop your sorry-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Hooded Mask leapt towards the man. The guard opens fire, shooting at him five times, all five shots missing their target due to uncanny speed and agility.

Hooded Mask jumps on top of the guard who manages to barely get away and run out of the room for dear life.

The guard continued running until out of nowhere he was jumped by Hooded Mask. The guard tried to fight him off but Hooded Mask just grabbed his fists and crushed both of them in his hands.

The guard lets out a bloodcurdling scream as his hands throbbed in extreme pain, all bones completely crushed.

Hooded Mask shoved him against the wall and punched a picture frame by his head, picking up a long shard of broken glass, stabbing the man repeatedly until he stops struggling. He then grabbed the man by his left leg and dragged him back into the room where the woman was lying.

Despite his injuries, the guard was still alive and he looked up at the monster who just violently brutalized him. He could only watch in horror as Hooded Mask bent down and viciously bit the man in the neck, quickly draining him of his blood and forgetting about the woman lying half alive on the ground nearby.

“Freddie. Freddie.” Sam’s voice sounded in his head and Freddie quickly opened his eyes, breathing heavily at the dream that had just filled his head.

“Are you alright? You look a little pale.” Sam said as she helped him sit up and he nodded, trying to calm his racing heart down.

“I… I just had a bad dream.” Freddie replied.

“The same one of the woman in the museum?” Sam asked and Freddie nodded.

“Except there was more. A man. A security guard. He tried to get help but the figure chased him and stabbed him with glass and then dragged him to the room where the woman was and killed him.” Freddie said.

“You were mumbling about some Hooded Mask thing. Was he the figure?” Sam asked and he nodded.

“I think so. I’m not exactly a hundred percent sure. Anyway, what are you doing here?” Freddie asked, wanting nothing more than to change the subject.

“I was just coming to see how you were going. You look like you’ve been busy.” Sam said, looking around the room at all of the things piled up.

“Yeah. I think I have enough teddies to give one to every person in the school.” Freddie said and Sam smiled.

“Looks like it. Oh. Franklin told Carly who told me to tell you that we have an excursion thing to the museum in 2 weeks for history or something. He’s going to have the permission slips written up by tomorrow apparently.” Sam said and Freddie nodded, Sam helping him to stand up.

“You sure that you’re alright? You look quite pale.” Sam said and Freddie nodded, a sudden sharp pain in his back where the mysterious tattoo had appeared.

“Yeah. It’s just the effects of the nightmare. I’ll be okay soon. All I need to do now is find my bed and then I’ll be good.” Freddie said and Sam smiled, leaning up and kissing him, her arms going around his neck, Freddie smiling as she pulled away.

“What was that for?” Freddie asked and Sam smiled.

“Just cause.” She replied with a smile, her eyes sparkling a little. Smiling widely, Freddie leant down and kissed her again before pushing her back until they hit the bed, both laughing as they fell into the mountain of teddies that surrounded them.  
“I can’t believe it’s the first day of school. And of senior year. We’re officially seniors.” Carly said excitedly as she and Sam walked into school, both going over to their lockers that they both managed to get back and Sam groaned.

“You are way too excited about this year. It’s really not so amazing. It’s just the beginning of another year that I will spend sleeping through.” Sam said.

“Sam, you have to try this year. It’s our last year of school before college. Don’t you want to make something out of yourself?” Carly asked and Sam rolled her eyes.

“Don’t you start. Freddie already started that up last night.” Sam said.

“How is it going between you two anyway? Has it been fun in love land?” Carly asked with a grin as the girls opened their lockers.

“It’s going great. His mum was definitely not all that happy with it, but other than that it’s been alright for the week we’ve been together.” Sam replied and Carly smiled.

“You love him.” Carly said and Sam’s cheeks went slightly pink, a scowl on her face.

“Shut up Shay.” She snapped and Carly giggled as Wendy and Brad walked over to them.

“Hey guys. How has it been? Where’s Freddie? Did you enjoy your summer vacation?” Brad asked and Carly smirked.

“Did you hear the amazing news? Sam and Freddie are dating again.” Carly said in a sing song voice and Brad and Wendy turned to Sam who was turning a light shade of red.

“Oh my god. That’s amazing news. Congratulations. How is he going after the whole thing with his dad?” Wendy asked.

“He’s definitely doing much better. Pretty much normal.” Sam said and Wendy nodded.

“That’s good. Where is he anyway?” Wendy asked, but before Sam could answer, the school doors opened and Freddie walked in, Millie and Gabe walking either side of him and all three talking and laughing.

“They were crying, like actually crying. It was so hilarious.” Carly, Sam, Wendy and Brad heard Gabe say, watching as Millie and Freddie laughed, both seeming to be struggling to walk straight.

“What’s so funny?” Carly asked as they reached the small group, Freddie and Millie still laughing slightly.

“Nothing you need to worry about.” Gabe said in a way that made Freddie and Millie laugh more, Freddie leaning against the wall and burying his face in his hands, his body shaking.

“Who are your new friends?” Brad asked when Freddie and Millie had calmed down and Millie giggled again.

“Wendy, Brad, these are my friends Gabe and Millie. Gabe, Millie, this is Brad and Wendy, 2 other friends of mine.” Freddie said as he went and stood next to Sam, taking her hand in his as Gabe and Millie waved slightly at Wendy and Brad.

“Morning.” Sam said to Freddie who grinned and leant down to kiss her, pulling away a few seconds later before wrapping an arm around her, Sam smiling up and him and leaning slightly into him.

“You two are so cute together.” Carly said and Sam rolled her eyes.

“You guys are going to love it here. Except if you have classes with Ms Briggs or Mr Howard.” Wendy said and Sam groaned.

“I wish they would just disappear.” Sam said.

“At least it’s only one more year.” Carly said.

“Come on. They can’t be that bad.” Millie said, but as she spoke, Mr Howard walked into the hallway, running into a small junior with glasses and braces, her hair up in 2 braids.

“Move along or I’ll send you to detention.” Mr Howard barked and the girl dropped her jaw open.

“But sir, that’s not fair. I didn’t even do anything.” The girl said.

“Detention for back chatting. Now get to class.” Mr Howard growled before walking off, knocking the girls books to the floor, Freddie sighing before splitting from Sam and going over to help the girl pick up her books.

“Here. Let me help.” He said as he bent down to pick up a few of her books and she gave him a small smile.

“What’s your name? Mine’s Freddie.” Freddie asked.

“I know. I watch ICarly. My names Bianca.” Bianca said and Freddie smiled as he handed her the books, the two standing up.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Bianca. I’m guessing you’re new here right?” Freddie asked and Bianca nodded.

“My first year of high school. I don’t know anyone here.” She said.

“I know how scary that can be so don’t worry okay? You’ll be alright. Mr Howard is just a grumpy old man so be careful and try your best to stay out of his way okay?” Freddie said and Bianca nodded.

“If you need anything come and find me okay? I’ll see you around.” Freddie said with a big smile before turning around and walking back to the group, Bianca walking past with a smile on her face before she hurried up the stairs to class.

“That was so sweet.” Millie said and Freddie smiled again.

“I know how it feels to be her so I figured I might as well help. The only difference was my tormentor was Sam, not Mr Howard.” Freddie said.

“That’s because you were a huge nerd.” Sam replied and Freddie rolled his eyes as he wrapped his arm around her again.

“We should probably go to the office and get checked in.” Millie said and the others nodded. Before Millie could ask someone to show her where to go however, the speaker system made a noise of a mic turning on and Principal Ted Franklin’s filled the halls.

“Could Freddie Benson please make his way to my office? Thank you.” Ted said before the speakers turned off and the group turned to Freddie who looked confused.

“Sam, what did you do?” Carly asked.

“Nothing. I haven’t had a chance to yet. Want me to come with you?” Sam asked Freddie who just shook his head.

“No. You get to class and I’ll meet you there. I’ll show you two where to go on my way to the principal’s office. The registration office is right next door to it.” Freddie said and Gabe and Millie nodded, Freddie giving Sam a quick kiss before the three split off and walked down the hall.

“Do you think someone might have seen us last night?” Millie asked as they walked.

“They couldn’t have. We had our faces hidden the entire time and were in a part of town that no one I know lives.” Freddie said.

“But what about someone you don’t know that goes here?” Millie asked.

“Millie, don’t panic. If someone saw anything I’ll figure something out so don’t worry. And it’s probably just Principal Franklin wanting to talk to me about my schedule this semester.” Freddie said and Millie sighed.

“I guess that’s true.” She said and Freddie gave a weak smile before slowly down, stopping in front of a door and turning to Gabe and Millie.

“Here’s the registration office. I’ll catch you guys either in class or at lunch.” Freddie said and the two nodded.

“Shout if you need anything.” Gabe said before he and Millie walked into the office and Freddie took a deep breath before walking into the next door, nodding at the assistant before knocking on Ted’s door.

“Come in.” He called and Freddie walked in, closing the door behind him and then sitting down on one of the chairs.

“Good morning Freddie. How were your holidays?” Ted asked.

“They were alright. Good to be back. How were yours?” Freddie asked.

“They were wonderful thank you. Now, I bet you’re wondering why you’re here.” Ted said and Freddie nodded.

“First off, how have things been since your father passed away?” Ted asked and Freddie shrugged.

“It was hard at first but it’s getting better.” Freddie said and Ted nodded.

“That’s good. Now onto why I called you here, last night I happened to come into the office to make sure that everything was alright for today and I found these.” Ted said, getting up and opening his cupboard to reveal several large sacks full of stuff.

“Large sacks?” Freddie asked, raising an eyebrow and making Ted smile.

“Yes, but it’s what’s in them. It’s a lot of letters and small gifts from ICarly fans. I happened to look at one of the teddy’s in there and it was a condolence over your fathers passing. There’s 6 large bags full of letters and candy and teddies and I believe there are still more coming.” Ted said and Freddie’s jaw dropped.

“Oh my god. I only told people like 2 days ago.” Freddie said.

“Apparently lots of people love you. Actually, my daughter asked me to give you something.” Ted said, going over to his desk and opening a draw before pulling out a smallish box and a card, handing them to Freddie who sat the box in his lap and opened the letter.

Dear Freddie,I just wanted to say that I’m sorry for what happened to your father. I know that this can’t bring him back, but I hope it can start to make you feel better. I’m starting at Ridgeway this year so maybe we’ll run into each other in the hallway or something which would make my day. But while I feel for you, I guess I don’t know how you feel. It must be hard to know that you won’t see them again. Unless you count dreams.I really hope you do feel better soon. Just know that we’re all thinking of you.Tayla Franklin

Smiling slightly, Freddie put the letter down and opened the box to reveal a silver chain with a cross pendant on it, making him smile slightly wider.

“Since this is a more personal task, I am giving you permission to go home and go through most of this.” Ted said and Freddie looked up at him.

“But it’s the first day of school; senior year at that.” Freddie said and Ted smiled.

“Don’t worry about it. I’ll send your homework home with Carly Shay if you get any and I’ll cover for you.” Ted said and Freddie smiled at his headmaster.

“Thank you sir.” Freddie said as he stood up, putting the box and letter carefully in his bag.

“No worries. I’ll help you carry these sacks out and then you can head home.” Ted said and Freddie nodded, the two going over to the cupboard and getting the sacks out, each dragging 3 out and getting them to Freddie’s car, putting 2 in the boot and 4 in the back seat.

Sitting in the driver’s seat of his car in front of the school, Freddie was typing a message on his phone to Sam.

Freddie: Hey. Just wanted to let you know that I wasn’t feeling too well and I’m heading home.

It was almost a minute later when Sam’s reply came through and Freddie sighed.

Sam: Okay. Want me to come with you? And what’d Franklin want?

Freddie: He just wanted to see how I was going with my dad. And I’ll be okay. :)

Sam: Okay. If you decide otherwise you know where I am.

Freddie: I know baby :). See you later.

Putting his phone on the passenger seat, Freddie turned the engine on and then drove out of the car park and onto the street, driving to Bushwell and going into the parking garage before taking the sacks up to his apartment 2 at a time.

Sitting on his bedroom floor, Freddie pulled out the first small box and, letting out a long breath, he used a pocket knife he had gotten from Sam for his last birthday and cut the tape. Inside of the box sat a snow globe with a castle with the word ‘LOVE’ written on the ground in front of the castle, a letter folded up inside.

Dear FreddieI know how it feels to lose someone you love and I just want you to know that it will get easier over time. I know that it hurts and that there’s a hole where they belonged but remember that you can always find them again, even if it’s just in your dreams. He’ll always be there to watch over you and just know you aren’t alone. Just remember that.I love you and I’m glad that this tragedy hasn’t stopped you from living your life. Don’t let it pull you down because your father is still with you, in you. I hope that you feel better about this soon.Clara Maborough

Smiling slightly, Freddie shook the snow globe and watched the snow fall in the globe before setting it to the side, the letter sitting underneath it.

For the next 3 hours Freddie sat and opened gifts and letters, everything sorted into piles. There was a pile of teddies, one of a bunch of bracelets and necklaces and chains, one of snow globes and one of letters that had questions that Freddie intended to answer, some letters asking for advice on things.

At that moment, Freddie was reading through a young boys letter and tears were rolling down his cheeks as he read the problems that the boy had and had told him about. Just as he was finishing reading, his phone went off and he took a moment to wipe the tears away before he answered the phone.

“Hey Sammy.” Freddie said.

“Hey baby. How you feeling?” Sam asked and Freddie sighed.

“Alright I guess. I’m going through letters and gifts that fans sent me. That’s why I really came home. Franklin let me leave early with six sacks full of letters.” Freddie said.

“Six sacks? You must be drowning. You doing alright?” Sam asked.

“Yeah. Some letters are actually not just condolence letters and are serious issues that people want advice on. Some are making me sort of upset because of how bad they are but I’m going to be alright and power through.” Freddie said.

“If it gets too much don’t force yourself to read anymore alright?” Sam said and Freddie smiled.

“I won’t. I promise. What are you up to?” Freddie asked and Sam groaned.

“Trying to find an excuse to get out of our next class. It’s Mrs Briggs.” Sam said.

“Sam, it’s one period. I’m sure you can handle it. You know you have to start trying this year.” Freddie said.

“Yeah, yeah. Don’t you start on that one again. I have to go now, but I’ll see you later.” Sam said.

“Okay. Bye. Love you.” Freddie said.

“Love you too.” Sam said and Freddie smiled before he hung up and sighed.

“This is gonna be a long, long day.”

A little bit later in the bedroom in the cabin, Cassie and Danny were laying there with nothing but a sheet covering them, both laying their sides facing each other.

“Imagine if Pete walked into the room right now?” Cassie asked and Danny smiled.

“Then he would be in for a massive shock wouldn’t he? Don’t worry. I can blackmail him to stay quiet.” Danny said and Cassie sighed, resting her head on her hand.

“I was wondering, why do you never mention your sister? I mean, I know you two were close and have now lost touch, but why don’t you ever talk about her?” Cassie asked and Danny looked down at her arm, his fingers lightly running up and down the skin.

“On my tenth birthday, my sister and I went to the lake and, even though she was only 9, she gave me a glass dolphin that she had gotten for me out of her own pocket money. I had gotten a bad lashing the night before and it hurt to breath, but she just told me that out there I could let my spirit free and let it all go and let God show me where to go. When I said that it was impossible she told me to close my eyes and pretend I was somewhere that I really wanted to be so I did. What I conjured up was a green hill that overlooked this beautiful view of fields and a lake. It was a picnic and my sister was there. It took me a minute to realise that my mother was there too and when I opened my eyes and realised she wasn’t there I cried. My sister just told me that I could always find her again as long as I have a happy place. It’s always been the same and I’m always with my mum and sometimes still my sister. I just wish I knew what happened to her.” Danny said and Cassie frowned.

“You don’t know what happened to her?” Cassie asked.

“When I was 18 she just stopped coming to visit me and it’s been over a year since I last spoke to her so I have no idea what she looks like now. She cut off all contact one day and I haven’t heard from her since.” Danny replied and Cassie looked down for a moment.

“I don’t know what it feels like to not know what happened to someone, but don’t let it eat you away. If you want to find her, ask Freddie and see if he’ll help. I mean, he got Pete back in touch with his family when he barely knew him.” Cassie said.

“All I want to know is if she’s alive and then I won’t be so bothered anymore.” Danny said and Cassie ran her fingers over his cheek and then through his soft hair, his eyes closing as she did this.

“You’re tense.” Cassie noted a minute later and Danny sighed.

“I always get tense when I talk about family. I don’t have the best history with them.” Danny replied and Cassie sighed before leaning down and softly kissing over a scar across his bicep, her lips trailing over it before she kissed his lips, her fingers getting tangled in his hair as it got deeper and deeper.

*****************************

As the day progressed and the stacks of letters and gifts got more and more, Freddie got more tired and by the time the others had gotten back to the Shay’s, he had fallen asleep on his bedroom floor, exhausted from all the reading and crying he had done in the last few hours.

However, instead of peaceful happy dreams that he wished he could have, Freddie only got the nightmare. Only this time was more intense.

The young woman screamed loudly as the figure pinned her to floor. She tried to fight him off but was so overpowered that she didn't stand a chance at getting free.

"Please." The woman pleaded "Please, let me go."

With one swift and fluid motion, the figure bite down on the woman's neck and started to suck the blood out of her. She lets out a gasp as her blood was draining from the bite and tries to push him off, slowly losing consciousness from the blood loss.

Right as her blood is about to be completely drained, a security guard rushes into the room with his flash light in hand.

"Hey! Who's in here?" The guard called out in the dark room.

The figure turns to face him and the guard sees the eyes hidden behind the mask that covered the top half of his face, a hood over his head. His eyes glowed bright red and fresh blood stained his lips and ran down his chin.

The guard saw that the figure had the woman's limp body in his arms. "Oh god, no."

The figure drops the woman and rises to his feet. Like a lion stalking its prey, he advances on the guard with an animalistic instinct. 

The guard pulls out his gun and points it at him. "Stay back! I'm warning you! I will shoot you!"

The hood let out a low snarl and continued to make his way to the man.

"I mean it, I will drop your sorry-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Hooded Mask leapt towards the man. The guard opens fire, shooting at him five times, all five shots missing their target due to uncanny speed and agility.

Hooded Mask jumps on top of the guard who manages to barely get away and run out of the room for dear life.

The guard continued running until out of nowhere he was jumped by Hooded Mask. The guard tried to fight him off but Hooded Mask just grabbed his fists and crushed both of them in his hands.

The guard lets out a bloodcurdling scream as his hands throbbed in extreme pain, all bones completely crushed.

Hooded Mask shoved him against the wall and punched a picture frame by his head, picking up a long shard of broken glass, stabbing the man repeatedly until he stops struggling. He then grabbed the man by his left leg and dragged him back into the room where the woman was lying.

Despite his injuries, the guard was still alive and he looked up at the monster who just violently brutalized him. He could only watch in horror as Hooded Mask bent down and viciously bit the man in the neck, quickly draining him of his blood and forgetting about the woman lying half alive on the ground nearby.

“Freddie. Freddie.” Sam’s voice sounded in his head and Freddie quickly opened his eyes, breathing heavily at the dream that had just filled his head.

“Are you alright? You look a little pale.” Sam said as she helped him sit up and he nodded, trying to calm his racing heart down.

“I… I just had a bad dream.” Freddie replied.

“The same one of the woman in the museum?” Sam asked and Freddie nodded.

“Except there was more. A man. A security guard. He tried to get help but the figure chased him and stabbed him with glass and then dragged him to the room where the woman was and killed him.” Freddie said.

“You were mumbling about some Hooded Mask thing. Was he the figure?” Sam asked and he nodded.

“I think so. I’m not exactly a hundred percent sure. Anyway, what are you doing here?” Freddie asked, wanting nothing more than to change the subject.

“I was just coming to see how you were going. You look like you’ve been busy.” Sam said, looking around the room at all of the things piled up.

“Yeah. I think I have enough teddies to give one to every person in the school.” Freddie said and Sam smiled.

“Looks like it. Oh. Franklin told Carly who told me to tell you that we have an excursion thing to the museum in 2 weeks for history or something. He’s going to have the permission slips written up by tomorrow apparently.” Sam said and Freddie nodded, Sam helping him to stand up.

“You sure that you’re alright? You look quite pale.” Sam said and Freddie nodded, a sudden sharp pain in his back where the mysterious tattoo had appeared.

“Yeah. It’s just the effects of the nightmare. I’ll be okay soon. All I need to do now is find my bed and then I’ll be good.” Freddie said and Sam smiled, leaning up and kissing him, her arms going around his neck, Freddie smiling as she pulled away.

“What was that for?” Freddie asked and Sam smiled.

“Just cause.” She replied with a smile, her eyes sparkling a little. Smiling widely, Freddie leant down and kissed her again before pushing her back until they hit the bed, both laughing as they fell into the mountain of teddies that surrounded them.


	12. Chapter 12

"Museum's are so boring." Sam groaned as she, Carly, Millie, Gabe and Freddie sat in the Shay apartment, all standing in the kitchen.

"It won't be that bad. Just think about the ham you'll probably get after it." Carly said and Sam sighed, leaning against the bench.

"You alright Freddie? You look kinda tired." Millie said and Sam turned to see Freddie snapping out of whatever trance he had been in.

"Huh?" He asked and Sam sighed.

"You have another nightmare?" Sam asked and Freddie nodded.

"What are your nightmares about?" Carly asked.

"About some black figure murdering this man and woman in the museum. My stomach is sort of churning because of it since it was in the old artefacts room of the museum we're going to today." Freddie said and Sam grabbed his hand.

"It's just a nightmare. Nothing bad will happen today. Except the fact we're going to a boring museum." She said and Freddie half smiled, squeezing her hand.

"I just have to ask this, but has anyone else noticed Cassie and Danny acting weird lately?" Gabe asked a moment later and Millie frowned.

"Actually i have noticed that. Whenever someone walks into a room they stop talking and they always make sure they sit next to each other wherever they sit." Millie replied.

"Maybe they're in love." Carly said and Millie and Gabe looked at each other before they heard Freddie suck in a sharp breath, turning to look at him to see him rubbing his back.

"You alright?" Sam asked and he nodded.

"Yeah. Just a muscle lock or something. I'll be fine." Freddie replied, the look on his face showing his pain.

"I can massage it for you if you want." Sam said and he shook his head.

"I'm fine. Really." He said with a smile, but Sam knew it was fake.

"So is this all of us or is Gibby joining us?" Millie asked and Carly shook her head.

"This is all of us. Freddie, would you mind driving us? You are the only with a license." Carly said and Freddie nodded.

"Sure. I'm just gonna go and grab my car keys. I left them on my desk in my room." Freddie said and Carly nodded, the four watching Freddie leave the apartment and go back into his.

Once in his room, Freddie grabbed his keys, but stopped when he saw the yellow folder that held his fathers will hidden under a bunch of other papers, an image of the crash coming into his head, that image soon being replaced by the nightmare and a chill ran down Freddie's back.

"It's just a dream. Sam's right. Just a dream." He told himself before he took a deep breath and then left, locking the front door behind him and then going into the Shay apartment and grabbing his bag.

"Let's get going so we don't get caught in traffic." He said and Millie, Gabe, Sam and Carly all nodded, continuing their conversation as they headed down to the lobby.

When Freddie pulled up at school, the teacher Ms Miles was standing next to the bus talking to one of the students, everyone going to the museum scattered around the front of the school talking while they waited to get onto the bus.

"I think there's a storm coming. The sky looks black." Millie said as they got out of the car.

"Nothing unusual then." Sam said, going over to Freddie and grabbing his hand as he locked the car door.

"I wonder what exhibits we'll be forced to look when we get there." Gabe said as they walked over to the bus.

"Well, I'm pretty sure the artefacts room is closed because someone tried to steal something a few days ago and the Egyptian exhibit is closed for renovations." Freddie said and Sam looked up at him.

"You're a nerd you know?" She said and he rolled his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

"I love you too Puckett." Freddie said, pecking her lips before turning back to the others.

"I wonder if we'll be split into groups or not. We split off in groups at my old school." Millie said and Gabe turned to her.

"And it ended when 2 of the groups got lost." He said and Millie nodded in remembrance. A moment later as the 5 teens were talking, Freddie noticed a friend of his from fencing club, Chris, walking up the path with Bianca, the two both looking as if they were talking with serious looks on their faces.

"I didn't know Chris had a sister." Carly said, having noticed them too.

"He doesn't." Freddie said frowning and Millie and Gabe glanced at each other, watching as Bianca and Chris split and Chris walked over to the group. Chris had brown hair and hazel coloured eyes and he was wearing a blue and white jacket with a navy blue t-shirt underneath with 3 buttons, 1 undone, and denim jeans, a leather strip around his neck with the pendant hidden under his shirt.

"Morning guys." He said when he reached the 5.

"Hey. Was she your sister or something?" Sam asked and Chris looked back for a moment and turned back smiling.

"I don't have a sister. She's my cousin. My parents told me i had to make sure she got to school on time for the first few weeks until she got used to the timetable." Chris said and Sam nodded, looking up at Freddie who was frowning but down at the ground.

"You alright there Freddie? You look a little off." Chris said a moment later and Freddie shook his head.

"It's nothing. I just have a bad feeling about today is all." Freddie said.

"Honestly, i do too." Chris said.

"Nothing is going to happen. Just chill out." Sam said and Freddie sighed, wrapping his arm around her.

It was half an hour later when people were finally allowed to board the bus and Sam could see that as the bus started up Freddie got nervous.

"Hey. It'll all be okay. Nothing bad is gonna happen." Sam told him and he sighed.

"I just can't shake it. But you're probably right." Freddie said and Sam wrapped her arm around his neck, turning her body slightly to face him, kissing him for a moment before pulling away.

"Who told you to stop?" Freddie asked jokingly with a smile and Sam rolled her eyes before kissing him again, his arms going around her waist.

"Get a room." Gabe said over the seat and Sam lifted her hand and slapped the back of his head, her lips staying connected to Freddie's.

"Okay. I want you all on your best behaviour today. Touch or break anything and you will be held responsible, not me. This is your first and final warning. Now exit in an orderly fashion and wait inside of the lobby. Do NOT wonder off." Ms Miles said when the bus pulled up in front of the museum a good 45 minutes later because of traffic and everyone got off of the bus quickly, stretching their legs and then entering the lobby, people fighting for a seat.

"I'm already bored." Sam said and Carly sighed.

"You'll just have to deal with it a few hours and then you can have you ham." Carly said.

"You're lucky that ham makes me do things." Sam said and Carly smiled.

"Hello students. My name is Jessica Brynn and i will be your tour guide today. I advise you to not touch anything as you will be held responsible and will have to pay for the cost of repairs and they will not be cheap. Also, on the left side of the second floor there are renovations going on so no one is allowed in there and the artefacts room was broken into so that room is closed to public for now." Jessica said after a few minutes, having walked up and get the kids to group together.

"What got stolen?" One of the other students asked and Jessica smiled.

"It wasn't actually stolen, but it was almost. It was an ancient wooden bottle found somewhere deep in the forests of this country. It had a symbol carved on the front and inside were unrecognisable traces of venom. They're doing more tests on it now as we have more advanced equipment, but a lot of people believe that it is the venom of a vampire because traces of human saliva were also found in the bottle." Jessica said.

"But vampires don't even exist." Another student laughed.

"Or do they? They could be hiding in plain sight and nobody will ever know." Jessica said and everyone looked at each other, Gabe, Millie, Freddie and Sam all looking at each other in a slight panic.

"Alright, let's get moving. And remember, don't touch anything." Jessica said before walking off, the class following closely behind.

"What if that really is vampire venom?" Millie asked in a whisper.

"Then we're screwed." Gabe replied

For 20 minutes the class walked around and listened to Jessica, people half paying attention to what was being said and half talking amongst themselves.

"How long are we gonna be here for?" Sam asked Carly who just sighed.

"We've been here for 20 minutes. You have a long way to go yet. Just stop thinking about it and it'll go by quicker." Carly said and Sam sighed, turning to Freddie and frowning when she saw he looked slightly pale.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked and Freddie looked down at her.

"What? Oh. I'm fine." Freddie replied and Sam put her hand gently on his back, rubbing her hand slowly up and down and watching as his eyes closed and his head dropped.

"That feels nice." He said and Sam raised an eyebrow, not stopping rubbing his back for a good few minutes, trying not to laugh when he made a soft purring sound.

"You still don't look good. Are you sure you want to go on?" Sam asked when Jessica had started walking again and Freddie nodded, looking slightly annoyed that Sam had stopped rubbing his back.

"I'm okay. Really. I'm just gonna go to the toilet though. I'll be back in a few minutes." He said and Sam nodded, watching as he walked back the way they had come from.

"Is he alright?" Chris asked and Sam shrugged.

"He's been having some bad nightmares lately. He probably just remembered them or something." Sam replied.

"When you were rubbing his back, was he purring?" Chris asked and Sam raised her eyebrows.

"You heard that? I barely did." Sam replied and Chris shrugged.

"I have good hearing is all." He said before turning back to face Jessica.

"Does your mother clean out your ears like Freddie's mother does?" Sam asked jokingly and Chris chuckled.

"She does that? Wow." He laughed.

"She used to. She stopped after his dad died." Sam said and Chris's smile faded.

"I heard about that. Did he really see the crash?" Chris asked and Sam nodded.

"I was with him at the time. He was in mainly shock for a while but at the funeral it truly hit him and he lost it." Sam replied.

"How is he doing about it now?" Chris asked.

"A lot better." She replied and Chris gave a small smile.

"That's good." He said and Sam nodded, both falling silent and just following after Jessica.

*******

In the bathroom, Freddie breathed heavily as he gripped onto the basin, the pain in his back almost unbearable. It had hurt a lot since the nightmares had started, but nothing like this and it was making him worry about whether or not he should tell someone about the sudden appearance of the tattoo on his back.

Freddie stood at the basin for a good 10 minutes before the pain started to die down and he took a deep breath, calming himself down.

"I'll tell Pete tonight. He'll know what to do." Freddie told himself as he stood up properly. However, just as he went to turn to head for the door, an intense pain hit him in the back and it all went black.

*******

A large man in his early forties walked into the bathroom and went over to the sink, beginning to wash his hands.

As the water ran, the man sensed something was wrong, like he was being watched. It was a public restroom but something felt wrong.

He looked up at the mirror in front of the sink only to see a figure in black standing a few feet behind him. The startled man turned around quickly, the figure not moving from where he stood.

"Geez, you scared the hell out of me." The man replied. The figure in black was wearing a hoody over his head and had his head down, remaining silent. The man was put off by the demeanour of the figure.

"Are you all right?" The man asked and the figure in black breathed heavily in reply, it sounding almost like a low growl. This worried the man and he went to make his way out of the bathroom.

"Let me go get someone." The man said. As the man went to exit the room however, he found the figure standing in front of him. The man's eyes widened in horror as he saw the figure's face, a sight that made his blood run cold.

"Oh god. Oh god, please no."

The figure sharply grabbed him by the neck and the man struggled to breathe as the figure had a vice like grip around his neck. In one fluid motion, the figure in black bit down on the man's neck, spilling blood on the bathroom wall.

*******

"Where is he? It's been almost half an hour since he left." Sam told Chris and Millie and Chris instantly walked up to Jessica.

"Excuse me but one if our friends has gone missing. He went to the toilet about half an hour ago and he still hasn't come back." Chris said and Jessica sighed.

"Alright. Let's go back to where we were when he left the group and see of we can find him." Jessica replied and Chris nodded, waiting a moment for Jessica to tell everyone what was going on before heading off in the direction of where they had last seen Freddie.

"Okay. Chris and Gabe, you two come with me to the men’s bathroom. We'll see if he's in there and then go from there." Ms Miles said when they had stopped and the two boys nodded, following the teacher down the hall to the bathroom, watching as she opened the door and let out a blood curdling scream.

"His neck. It was like it had been ripped open." Ms Miles shakily told the police 15 minutes later down in the lobby, Millie, Gabe, Chris and Sam standing in a corner, Carly over the other side of the room with Brad and Wendy.

"That poor, poor man. Freddie was right. Something bad did happen." Millie said.

"Where is he? He isn't answering his phone." Sam said in a panicked voice and Chris put his hand on her shoulder.

"We are going to find him. Don't worry. But i think first up we need to point out the elephant in the room." Chris said and Gabe and Millie crossed their arms, nerves showing on their faces.

"What are you talking about?" Gabe asked.

"Don't play dumb. I know that that man was murdered by a rouge vampire and that you both are vampires, Freddie too." Chris said quietly and Sam's, Gabe's and Millie's eyes widened.

"How did you know that?" Sam asked and Chris sighed, closing his eyes for a second before opening them to show bright red eyes.

"Oh my god." Millie said in shock and Chris sighed, his eyes going back to normal.

"Unlike you, i was born into a vampire family so i know a whole lot more about vampires then you do. I know what a crazy vampire attack looks like and whoever did that has most likely taken Freddie hostage because he saw something he shouldn't have." Chris said.

"What do we do? We have to find him." Sam said and Millie grabbed her hand.

"We will. Just keep trying to get ahold of him. Maybe he's hiding somewhere and doesn't want to make any noise." Millie said and Sam gave her a look before pulling her phone out anyway.

"Who exactly told Sam about vampires?" Chris asked a moment later.

"Freddie did. My brother also knows." Millie replied and Chris nodded.

"Right now let's focus on stopping whatever is in the building and saving as many lives as possible." Gabe said and Chris looked around for a moment.

"Maybe they got something on camera. Lets try and find all of the security cameras and see what we can find." Chris said, Millie, Sam and Gabe all nodding and then following him to the stairs, hurrying up to the second floor, all hoping Freddie was just hiding somewhere and not in danger.

*******

Somewhere else in the museum, where the renovations were being done in the Egyptian display, three museum workers were tasked with taking down the exhibit. The three young men were in their early twenties: one of them had short blond hair and green eyes, the second man had dark brown hair and dark brown eyes and was the shorter of the trio and the third man was an African American with hazel eyes. The three of them were having a jovial conversation as they worked.

"You're serious?" The blond man asked the shorter man with a laugh.

"Don't start, Kyle!" The shorter man told the blond man.

"Lighten up, Jasper. We're just messing with you." The African American said to the shorter man. "It's fine that you and Jessica go antiquing on the weekends. Lots of guys do stuff they don't like to make their girls happy."

"It's not just that. I think Jessica might be the one." Jasper told them.

Kyle climbed down from a ladder and walked over to Jasper "You said that about Kelly, Amy, Maggie... and Marlena."

"I get it, I have a lousy track record with girls but I think it's different." Jasper told him as he pulled out something from his pocket. "I got this to prove it." He had pulled out a small box that he opened to reveal a moderately sized diamond engagement ring.

"No. You're not-" Kyle said.

"I'm going to ask Jessica to marry me." Jasper replied.

"Congrats man." The African American man said as he offered Jasper a bro hug.

"Thanks, John." Jasper said while John went to climb the ladder.

"So you're going to propose?" Kyle asked his friend.

"Yeah. Next week is our two year anniversary. I'm going to ask her after we get back from dinner at BF Wang's." Jasper replied.

"Wow. I'm really surprised. If you think she's the one, then I'm happy for you." Kyle said.

"Thanks." Jasper said.

"Just don't tell Yvette. Last thing I need is for her to get any ideas." Kyle said.

Jasper just shook his head as he picked up a heavy display. "Give me a hand, would ya?"

Kyle shrugged and helped Jasper pick up a pillar made of hollowed out plywood.

"Let's get this done quickly. Lilah and I have plans to go to the movies," John called down from the ladder as he walked onto a painter's scaffold.

"All right, John. We're moving as fast as we can." Kyle replied. Jasper just laughed until he sees a figure in the darkness partly obscured by another scaffolding that had a sheet around it. "Guys, got company."

Kyle turned around and John looked down from the scaffold to see the figure in black partially concealed by the sheet.

John climbed down from the scaffolding and stood next to Jasper. "Think he's with a tour group?"

"I don't know." Jasper stated, visibly frightened.

"Hey, buddy, you lost?" Kyle asked. The figure remained silent. He walked over to the scaffolding. "You deaf? I'm talking to you?" 

Kyle pulled back the sheet to find that no one was there. Jasper and John stood there nervously.

What they failed to see was that the figure in black was standing behind them and before anyone could move, he grabbed John by the neck and with one swift motion brutally snapped his neck. Jasper backed away in abject horror and yelled out which caused Kyle to quickly turn around. He saw a small shovel on the ground and picked it up. The figure in black menaced Jasper and went to attack him but is struck in the back of the head, the blow only managing to annoy the figure who turned to face Kyle.

Kyle held up the shovel in defence. "Jasper, get out of here! Go get help!"

Suddenly, the figure in black snatched the shovel from Kyle's hand and his eyes widen in horror but before he could react, the figure in black took the shovel and swung it at Kyle's midsection. Kyle looked down in shock and saw his entrails spill out from his open stomach.

Kyle looked up as a large amount of blood oozed from his mouth. He slumped to the ground dead at the figure's feet who knelt down and used his hand to wipe some of the blood that came out of Kyle's body and pooled in front of him. The figure licked the blood off the floor from his fingers, sounding animalistic in nature.

Jasper slowly tried to creep out of the room but tragically, he kicked a metal bucket on the ground, the sound catching the figure's attention and sealing Jasper's fate. Jasper went to run but the figure leapt on top of him, pinning him to the ground. Jasper tried to get up but the figure overpowered him, making it so he couldn't budge.

Jasper looked up at the figure and looked into the figure's face, into his eyes. He saw fangs. There was also something familiar to the figure's face, like he had seen him somewhere before.

"Wait, you're-"

Before finishing his sentence, the figure swiftly bit down on Jasper's neck. Jasper's pained screams are the last thing heard as the figure attempted to drain him dry.

"Jasper, Kyle, John, you guys in here?" A woman’s voice called and the black figure pulled away from Jasper's neck, growling before disappearing out of the area.

"Jas- oh my god!" The woman screamed when she walked in, Jessica being the woman. Racing over to Jasper, she quickly checked his pulse to find it weakly beating and she quickly dialled 911 as tears began to roll down her cheeks.

"Please Jasper. Please don't die on me." Jessica said quietly, grasping Jasper's hand tightly and refusing to look back at her mangled friends behind her.

*******

"That's 4 people dead. Where is Freddie?" Sam asked 15 minutes later after the ambulance had rushed Jasper and Jessica to hospital and police had taped off the areas where the deaths had happened.

"Sam, you have to stay calm. You must." Millie said holding her shoulders, them and Gabe and Chris on the other side of the building, having quickly moved to try and find Freddie before Sam started panicking, the three, especially Chris, surprised with how vulnerable she was in that moment.

"We'll have to hurry if we want to find him. Hopefully before the police find him and question him." Chris said and Sam tried her best to breath, the four all jumping when they heard a growl nearby. Spinning around, the saw the black figure standing there, the top half of his face covered by the hood but his mouth showing the fangs, blood on his lips and all over the hoody.

"Back off." Chris yelled, his eyes going bright red as he stepped forward, everyone shocked when the figure simply grabbed his arm and threw him effortlessly into the wall before snarling and sprinting off, Chris groaning from the impact on the wall and ground.

"Oh my god. Please tell me he didn't hurt Freddie." Sam said and Millie hugged her tightly while Gabe helped Chris up.

"He's extremely strong. We can't mess with him no matter what." Chris said in a pained voice and the girls pulled apart.

"What was that?" Millie asked weakly.

"That was a rouge vampire. He can't control his actions at all right now and he needs to be stopped before he kills everyone in the museum or escapes." Chris replied and the others all shivered in panic and fear.

*******

The girl stood cleaning the artefacts exhibit carefully, making sure she was always seen by the camera so they knew she wasn't taking anything. Everything seemed perfectly fine, but in the corner of her eye, she saw a shadow enter the room and turning around to see who it was, she was surprised to see that the room was empty other than her. Putting it down to her imagination, the girl went back to cleaning, her head snapping back up a moment later when she felt piercing eyes on the back of her skull.

“Who’s there?” She called out, slowly looking at every corner of the room. When she couldn’t see anyone, an uneasy feeling heavily settled in her, but putting it down to superstition, she just turned around and went back to cleaning. And that’s when the black figure leapt out from behind the door. The young woman screamed loudly as the black figure pinned her to floor. She tried to fight him off but was so overpowered that she didn't stand a chance at getting free.

"Please." The woman pleaded "Please, let me go."

With one swift and fluid motion, the black figure bit down on the woman's neck and started to suck the blood out of her. She lets out a gasp as her blood was draining from the bite and tried to push him off, slowly losing consciousness from the blood loss.

Right as her blood was about to be completely drained, a security guard rushed into the room with his flash light in hand.

"Hey! Who's in here?" The guard called out in the dark room.

The figure turned to face him and the guard saw the eyes hidden behind the mask that covered the top half of his face, a hood over his head. His eyes glowed bright red and fresh blood stained his lips and ran down his chin.

The guard saw that the figure had the woman's limp body in his arms. "Oh god, no."

The black figure drops the woman and rose to his feet. Like a lion stalking its prey, he advanced on the guard with an animalistic instinct.

The guard pulled out his gun and pointed it at him. "Stay back! I'm warning you! I will shoot you!"

The black figure let out a low snarl and continued to make his way to the man.

"I mean it, I will drop your sorry-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the black figure leapt towards the man. The guard opens fire, shooting at him five times, all five shots missing their target due to uncanny speed and agility.

Black figure jumps on top of the guard who managed to barely get away and run out of the room for dear life.

The guard continued running until out of nowhere he is jumped by the black mask. The guard tried to fight him off but the black figure just grabbed his fists and crushed both of them in his hands.

The guard lets out a bloodcurdling scream as his hands throbbed in extreme pain, all bones completely crushed.

The black figure shoved him against the wall and punched a picture frame by his head, picking up a long shard of broken glass, stabbing the man repeatedly until he stopped struggling. He then grabbed the man by his left leg and dragged him back into the room where the woman was lying.

Despite his injuries, the guard was still alive and he looked up at the monster who had just violently brutalized him. He could only watch in horror as the black figure bent down and viciously bit the man in the neck, quickly draining him of his blood and forgetting about the woman lying almost dead on the ground nearby.

Down the end of the hallway just seconds later, an older woman in her late forties with short brown hair walked around the hall. She continued walking until she took a final step and stopped at hearing a sound of crunching underneath her foot. She looked down to see that there was broken glass on the ground.

The woman looked around and noticed a trail of blood on the ground. She slowly walked forward and followed the trail towards a door that was ajar. She heard a noise coming from out of the room, the sound like an animal ripping something apart.

The woman walked towards the door and saw the figure in black knelt over the security guard biting into his neck. She recoiled in horror which caused her to push the door slightly.

The figure sensed her presence which caused the woman to become terrified. She looked around for any sign of people and then looked back into the room to see the figure in black nowhere in sight.

Unexpectedly, the figure appeared in front of the door and lunged at her. The woman screamed in horror and tried to push the door close to no avail.

The woman decided to make a break for it and ran down the hall, away from the figure in black who gave chase. She kept running for dear life until something grabbed her by the leg and snapped it in half. The woman howled in agony and was suddenly shoved hard into a wooden cabinet that stood in the hallway. She tried to recover from the whiplash, but as she looked up she found that the figure had knelt down in front of her. Her pained screams were the last thing heard before the figure and black bit down on her neck.

*******

"Did someone else survive?" Millie asked Chris a while later when he had finished talking to the cops and Chris shook his head, the four a floor higher.

"The younger woman would have but she had a heart attack from the sudden blood loss and died. The security guy that also does was in fact her twin brother and the woman was the manager." Chris replied and Gabe ran his hands through his hair while Millie turned to Sam who was pacing, her face showing obvious signs of distress and panic.

"Sam, you need to relax." Millie said and Sam stopped and turned to her.

"How the hell can i? My boyfriend is missing and there is a crazy murderer running around the place. How am i supposed to relax?" Sam snapped and Millie sighed, watching as she began pacing again and bit her nails.

"Sam, you have to at least try and breathe okay? Just try to do that." Millie said and Sam nodded, her breathing coming out shaky, stopping altogether when she heard the snarl behind her, her eyes going wide in fear with the others as they stared at the black figure. After a moment of staring, Chris slowly moved Sam backwards, but the black figure snarled and leapt, Gabe advancing and getting a fist to the face making him fall to the floor, Millie running at him only to get thrown hard into the wall, Chris also being met with a punch and a shoving into the wall before the black figure advanced on Sam who had backed into the wall.

"Please. Please don't kill me." Sam begged, but the black figure just grabbed her arms and roughly pinned her, his head lifting to reveal his face and making Sam gasp and him growl.

"Sam? What is it?" Millie asked weakly as she stood back up, but Sam didn't hear her as she was staring into the eyes of the black figure.

"Freddie." Sam whispered and the three other vampires all looked up in shock, Sam suddenly looking sympathetic and pained.

Freddie was the black figure.

*******

"He isn't doing anything." Millie whispered to Gabe and Chris 5 minutes later and Chris frowned, watching as Sam and Freddie seemed to have a silent conversation with their eyes.

"Should we pull him away?" Gabe asked but Sam lifted her hand and wiggled her finger in a 'no' motion.

"He could hurt you." Chris said and Freddie turned suddenly and growled, standing almost as if he was protecting Sam.

"Freddie, stop." Sam said, but Freddie just snarled and leapt, slamming into Gabe and pinning him to the ground, snarling louder when Chris yanked him off and Gabe leapt up, the two both grabbing an arm and using all of their super human strength to try and hold him as he struggled.

"We need to get him out of here now." Chris said as he tried to hold onto Freddie and Sam and Millie nodded, hurrying ahead to make sure that no one was coming.

Back at the cabin, Cassie and Danny were sitting on the couch watching TV with their arms around each other, both enjoying the privacy.

"This is nice." Cassie said quietly and Danny smiled, pulling her tighter against him.

"I kind of wish we could just always do this." Danny said and Cassie looked up at him.

"So not have it secret?" Cassie asked and Danny shrugged.

"I mean, it's nice having privacy, but it seems a little bit like work trying to hide us." Danny said and Cassie sighed, looking back down at the TV and relaxing into him.

"I know. Why don't we just wait until the perfect moment and then drop the bomb?" Cassie asked and Danny smiled, leaning down to kiss her, pulling away a moment later and turning back to the TV.

However, it was just moments later when the two heard a feral snarl fill the air and they immediately turned the TV off and sat up properly, letting go of each other.

"What the hell?" Danny said as another snarl sounded followed by yelling and Sam and Millie running in puffed out and in a panic.

"What's going on?" Cassie asked.

"You need to come outside right now." Sam said before she and Millie hurried out, Cassie and Danny following close behind, both being shocked when they saw the feral Freddie violently trying to break free of the grip on him.

"What happened?" Cassie asked and Danny took Gabe's place in trying to hold Freddie as he looked exhausted and in pain.

"We aren't fully sure but lets just say there are 6 dead people and a very almost death at the museum today." Gabe said tiredly, Cassie watching her nephew act like a wild animal.

"Where's Pete?" Sam asked as they got him inside and Cassie shrugged.

"I'll give him a call. Why?" Cassie asked.

"Just get him here." Sam replied before walking into the cabin, walking into the main area while Danny and Gabe tried to pin Freddie down.

"What is happening? I can hear snarling from a mile away." Pete said a few minutes later when he and Amber walked up and Cassie stepped slightly to the side to show Freddie lying on the ground pinned down by Danny, Gabe and Chris, his breathing sounding like a growl and his eyes staring at the roof.

"Oh my god." Pete said with a look of shock and Sam nodded, walking over to him.

"We have to find a cure. Is there anything we can do?" She asked.

"There is no cure Sam. But I'll call the old vampire family i was with. They might be able to help find a cure. But you'll have to brace yourself for the worst." Pete said and Sam nodded, her bottom lip shaking as she stared at her boyfriend.

"Pete, we can't have him pinned to the ground until they get here." Amber said and Freddie's growls suddenly got louder, his fangs growing and his eyes getting brighter, Sam backing up a bit.

Before Pete could ask what she was doing, Freddie snarled and threw the men off of him, leaping up and then running at Amber, knocking and pinning her to the ground, going to bite into her neck before being ripped off and then kicked in the back away by Pete.

"Stay away from her." Pete snarled, his eyes red, and Freddie let out a feral sound that made Pete flinch before running at Sam.

"NO!" Cassie yelled, watching as Freddie slammed Sam into the wall and leant down to her neck, watching as Sam quickly yanked his hair and pulled his head back, his snarl ending as he stared into her eyes.

"This happened at the museum. He looked into her eyes and just stopped." Millie said quietly as Pete pulled a shaking Amber into his arms.

"We need to tie him up. To a tree with a thick trunk so he can't get away or hurt anyone. Gabe, Chris, you two move him and I'll tie him to the tree." Danny said

"Wait." Millie said as the boys started moving and they stopped and watching as Sam put her hand onto Freddie's chest and gently started pushing him back, her eyes staying locked with his and her feet moving with his.

"Get the rope." Sam muttered to Danny as she passed him and he nodded, hurrying ahead of them and grabbing the rope that had been hanging on the wall, Sam pushing Freddie outside and then pushing him to his knees when they got outside, kneeling down with him while Danny tied his hands behind his back and then tied him to the tree, walking away as Sam stood up and Freddie growled, yanking on the rope and growling again.

However, when Sam started to walk away, she was surprised when Freddie made a whining sound and then growled as he yanked on the rope. Turning back around to him, Sam walked over to him and gently grabbed his arms, making stop.

"Did you want me to stay?" Sam asked and Freddie made a growl that sounded like an agreement. Sam then walked back over to him and knelt down beside him and placed her hand on his back, his eyes closing.

Being curious, Sam moved to sit more behind him and then pulled the hoody and shirt up, being shocked when she saw the swirl of the triskelion, a second one faint on his back connected to the first one.

Running her finger over the faint one, she was massively surprised when as she ran her finger across it went darker like the other swirl, a pur sound sounding from Freddie.

"Sam, you shouldn't be so close. He could hurt you." Pete said when he walked out and Sam quickly covered Freddie's back, standing up and moving in front of Freddie.

"I'll be fine." Sam said before sitting down in front of Freddie, his red eyes staring directly into hers.

Slowly walking closer, Pete watched as Sam placed her hand on Freddie's cheek and then begun leaning in.

"Sam." Pete said in panic, but what surprised him was that as Sam kissed Freddie he seemed to relax, the more shocking part being that when Sam pulled away and he opened his eyes they were fading back to brown.

"Sam?" Freddie asked weakly before his eyes drooped closed and he fell into Sam, passing out.


	13. Chapter 13

“This is too weird. This has never happened before.” Amelia, the woman who had saved Pete when he had first been turned, having arrived at the cabin and having checked over Freddie, any signs of crazy Freddie no longer there.

“Alia got killed because she went mad. And his crazy just turned off.” Pete said and Amelia sighed,

“What was the last thing that happened before he passed out?” She asked and Pete looked over to Sam and Freddie who were by the tree, the two a little distance away.

“Sam kissed him.” Pete replied and Amelia’s eyes widened.

“She kissed a crazed vampire and survived?” She asked.

“Not only that but as soon as she kissed him his eyes went back to brown and then he passed out. I knew they loved each other but I didn’t think it would turn him back. Also, when he was in his crazed state he went to attack her but he pinned her to the wall, looked into her eyes and then froze.” Pete said and Amelia looked over at Sam and Freddie, Sam sitting on the ground crossed legged with Freddie leaning into her.

“Soul mates?” She asked and Pete’s eyebrows went up.

“I never thought of that. But none of us have ever seen it.” Pete said and Amelia sighed.

“Let’s see how this plays out. He could be waking up any minute and he’s going to be confused.” She said and Pete nodded, the two walking over to the teenagers, Pete leaning against the tree.

“How is he going?” He asked and Sam sighed heavily.

“Will he remember what he did?” Sam asked.

“There’s no way to tell, but even if he doesn’t we’ll have to tell him.” Amelia said and Sam looked down at him.

“He’s going to hate himself forever for this. I get that vampires are a type of monster but he tried so hard to be a good monster, not the vampire villain in all of the movies.” Sam said.

“He’ll be okay Sam. He’s strong.” Pete said and Sam looked up at him.

“How strong would you be if your worst nightmare just came true?” Sam asked and Pete looked down at his hands as Freddie started stirring.

“Hey baby.” Sam said softly when his eyes started fluttering open and he groaned, lifting himself off of her.

“What’s going on?” He asked, feeling the rope that was tying him to the tree and Sam looked up at Pete and Amelia.

“I can’t tell him.” She said and Freddie gave her a strange look, his eyes still showing that he hadn’t fully woken up yet as they were squinted, the sun shining above.

“Tell me what?” He asked tiredly and Pete sighed.

“Freddie, do you remember anything that happened at the museum?” He asked and Freddie shook his head.

“All I remember is being in the bathroom and then passing out. Why?” He asked and Pete looked over at Amelia.

“Freddie, while you were in the museum, you lost control and killed someone, or multiple someone’s.” Amelia said and Freddie suddenly seemed to wake up, his eyes going wide.

“N-no. I-I can’t have.” He said and Sam put her hand on his shoulder.

“But you did. It was like you were a completely different person. You killed 6 people and left someone else in such a bad state that I’d be surprised if he survived.” Sam said softly and Freddie stared down at the ground, his breathing starting to get heavy showing the signs of a panic attack.

“If I did it then why don’t I remember it?” He asked, his voice shaking.

“When your lose control you can’t remember because it isn’t the real you. It’s the demon inside of you. Every living thing has a demon in them.” Amelia said and Freddie stared at the ground.

“Please, let me go.” He said and Pete looked at Amelia and Sam, looking behind him to the house before looking back to Freddie.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea yet Freddie. You might snap again and hurt someone else.” Amelia said and Freddie’s eyes began to fill with tears as he looked to Sam.

“Sam, please. You have to let me go. Please.” He said and Sam looked up at the adults for a moment.

“It might not be safe.” She said and a tear rolled down his cheek.

“Please Sam. I promise I won’t hurt anyone. Just please let me go.” He begged and Sam sighed before going behind him to untie the rope.

“Sam, don’t. We don’t know if-”

“Oh shut up Pete. If it comes down to it we can tie him up again but right now he isn’t going to hurt anyone.” Sam snapped and Pete put his hands up in surrender, he and Amelia watching as she untied his wrists and then helped him up, Pete going to help Sam hold him up only to be shoved away as Freddie sprinted into the trees.

“Let me go after him. I might not be able to run very fast, but I think I know where he’s going. He won’t hurt anyone but himself right now.” Sam said and Pete nodded, watching her run off down the path before turning back to Amelia.

“You’re letting a human run after a vampire who just came back from insanity? I thought you knew better than that Pete.” Amelia said and Pete glared at her.

“You don’t get to tell me how to act. Not anymore and especially not after you brought in Chelsea and forced her to abandon her brother who needed her. You made me keep that a secret so unless you want me to tell her brother what you did to his sister then I suggest you let me lead my new family the way I choose. At least they don’t judge and control people. Don’t you remember why I ran away from you in the first place?” He asked before walking into the cabin, leaving Amelia to stare at the floor he had once been standing in.

“How is he?” Cassie asked when Pete walked in and he sighed, going over to Amber and wrapping an arm around her.

“He woke up, then we told him what happened and he started crying. He then begged Sam to let him go and when she did he ran off into the forest crying. Sam ran after him so we’ll hopefully hear from her soon.” Pete said and Cassie nodded before Danny spoke up.

“Who’s Chelsea? I heard you telling your friend something about a Chelsea and how she was forced to abandon her brother.” Danny said and Pete pursed his lips.

“She was adopted into my old vampire family after she ran away and was attacked by some creep with a gun. Amelia saved her and then Chelsea had to leave her family in fear of hurting them.” Pete said and Danny frowned, Cassie giving him a small sympathetic look before turning back to Pete.

“Well, while we wait, why don’t we try and figure out what the heck is going on? I can order some Chinese or Pizza or something so that we aren’t thinking on an empty stomach.” Cassie said and Millie breathed out the air that she had been holding in.

“I don’t think I can eat anything right now.” Millie said.

“I live in a city of vampires and I’ve never seen something that intense.” Chris said and Pete frowned.

“You live in a community of vampires?” Pete asked as Amelia walked in and he nodded.

“I was born a vampire. In the royal vampire castle of all places. The king was recently killed in a freak accident and so my father, who was the kings brother, is filling in while we find our king.” Chris said.

“What do you mean find your king?” Gabe asked.

“Well, our recently deceased king, my uncle, was kidnapped as a baby and a human family adopted him. When he was 18 his powers kicked in and my father, his brother, and my aunt, his sister, found him and explained what was happening to him. When he was 20 he became king when my grandfather passed away, but by then he was already in love with a human woman. He never told her what he was, but he stayed with her until he was 30. By then he had married her and they had had a son together. Their love sort of changed and they divorced but remained great friends because they still cared deeply and both agreed that their love had changed into that. He died recently and now we need to find his son to find if he is the next air to the throne.” Chris said.

“Couldn’t you just take it? I mean you’re royalty too right?” Danny asked.

“To be a king, you need to show qualities that no other vampire has. You will have the strength to tear another vampires head straight off which is a very hard thing to do and you will also have three powers. They can be anything from telepathy to healing someone or making them forget something. Each king is different.” Amelia replied as she walked over and Chris nodded.

“My cousin Bianca is also a vampire. It was a very big coincidence that she happened to run into him a couple of weeks ago when we had just realised that you guys and Freddie were vampires. Sam I couldn’t figure out until later that day when she hit someone in the head with her butter sock because they were going on about how Freddie’s father died.” Chris said.

“I hope she finds him soon.” Millie sighed and the others all went silent, all agreeing with her.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

After Sam had gone back to the school and gotten Freddie’s keys, his car being the only car in the lot as school was over, she had started driving around in hope that maybe she could find him, but after 20 minutes of driving around, she decided to go home and think of somewhere he could have gone to.

Pulling up into her driveway, Sam noticed a figure sitting on her front porch and after a moment she noticed it was Freddie.

“Hey.” She said as she walked up to him and he lifted his head to show tears covering his face. Sighing, Sam sat next to him, but when she went to grab his hand he flinched back.

“Don’t. I’m just a monster.” He said in deeper and shaky voice and Sam put her hand on his knee.

“You are not monster. You just made a mistake.” Sam said.

“But I killed people Sam. More than 1 person. I am a monster.” He said and Sam grabbed his cheeks.

“Not to me you aren’t. You will never ever be a monster to me. Ever. It was a mistake and mistakes happen. It’s going to be okay.” She replied, but he shook his head.

“No it’s not. I’ll probably get caught and then everyone will hate me and then you’ll leave like you should.” Freddie sobbed and Sam pulled away, standing up and surprising him when she grabbed his hand and yanked him up, shoving him inside of her house and then slamming the door, pinning him to it.

“You listen to me right now. You will never find a way to make me leave. You were going to kill me in the museum and at the cabin but you stopped. You never hurt me and you could have easily killed me twice. You are not a monster to me and you never will be. A mistake is a mistake, no matter what the cost. You’ll be better because of it and these things happen. Even Pete said that sometimes it’s hard to not lose control.” Sam said.

“But he hasn’t.” Freddie said.

“Yet. He could in a year or a month or even tomorrow. No one knows when things like this happen. It was an accident.” Sam said and Freddie looked down, tears rolling down his cheeks. Gently lifting his head up, Sam leant in and softly kissed him, feeling his tears fall onto her cheeks as they fell.

After a few minutes, Sam pulled away and rested her forehead with his, her hand resting on his neck.

“I love you and nothing will ever change that.” Sam said and Freddie nodded, his hands gripping onto her shirt tightly.

“Come on. Let’s go and get you cleaned up.” Sam said as she pulled away and took his hands and he nodded again, letting her take him upstairs and help him take of the bloody hoody and shirt, watching as she dumped them into the bin, poured alcohol over it and then threw a lit match into it.

“No one will find those clothes. If anyone asks say that you tore it when you were in a hurry to get out of the museum and it was too badly torn to fix so you chucked it okay?” Sam said and Freddie nodded, wrapping his arms around himself. Sam then sighed and grabbed her blanket, wrapping it around him before getting her glass of water that had been on her desk and pouring it on the fire to stop it.

“What if I turn on you and kill you?” Freddie asked quietly after a moment and Sam turned around to look at him, sitting down next to him on the bed.

“Then my ghost will come back and stop anyone from hurting you. It’s going to be okay Freddie.” Sam said and Freddie wrapped his arms around her, the both of them being buried in the rug, and then laying back on the bed, the two on their sides with their bodies pressed together.

After a couple of minutes, Sam leant in and softly pressed her lips to Freddie’s, soon rolling him onto his back and straddling his waist, the rug falling out of Freddie’s grip as he grabbed hold of her hips.

“Wait. I don’t want to hurt you.” Freddie said a few minutes later as things started to go deeper and Sam ran her hands through his hair.

“You won’t.” She said looking into his eyes before leaning down and gently kissing all over his face, his eyelids, nose, cheeks, forehead, going back to his lips and tangling her fingers into his hair.

“I love you.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next morning, the early morning sun shone over the couple who were still awake, the rug covering them as they lazily kissed, Freddie’s arm draped over Sam’s waist and her fingers in his hair.

“How’s the back tattoo? And how long have you had it?” Sam asked after a little while and Freddie sighed.

“It just appeared a few weeks ago, the night we first… made love. I woke up and my back hurt so I looked in the mirror and there it was. It was weird and made me panic, but I didn’t say anything until I knew what it was.” Freddie said.

“Well, a second swirl appeared yesterday. It was faint when I first saw it but I traced it with my finger and it went darker as my finger passed over it. It was weird but your purred too.” Sam said.

“It was weird. It would hurt but the second you touched it, it was so relaxing. In the museum it got really bad and then it stopped when you started rubbing my back. When you stopped it got so intense I had to leave and then I just fainted in the bathroom. I honestly just thought someone had stabbed me in the back.” Freddie replied and Sam rolled him onto his back and rested her head on his chest.

“We have to tell Cassie and the others about the tattoo.” Sam said after a minute of silence and Freddie nodded.

“I know.” He replied.

“I wonder if Chris will still be at the cabin.” Sam said and Freddie frowned.

“Chris? Why would Chris be at the cabin?” Freddie asked and Sam lifted her head.

“He helped Gabe, Millie and I get you back to the cabin. He’s a vampire Freddie.” Sam said and Freddie’s eyes widened.

“Since when?” Freddie asked.

“He said he was born as a vampire. And that makes me think that his little cousin Bianca is one too, the one you bumped into on the first day of school.” Sam replied, resting her chin on his chest.

“I didn’t think vampires could have kids.” Freddie said and Sam smiled.

“Turns out they can.” Sam said and Freddie suddenly smiled, pulling her closer.

“Guess we should be a lot more careful then huh?” He said and Sam rolled her eyes, leaning up and pressing her lips to his softly, staring down at him and running her fingers gently across his cheek.

“I love you so much.” She whispered and he closed his eyes, holding her even tighter.

“You have no idea how much I needed that.” He replied and Sam smiled, kissing his forehead and resting her head back onto his chest, hoping that yesterday would never happen again.

An hour and a half later, Sam and Freddie arrived at the cabin and they were both surprised to find that no one was there.

“Alright. You call Pete and I’ll check to see if anyone is in the room. Someone could have crashed here overnight.” Freddie said and Sam nodded, pulling her phone as Freddie walked down the hallway.

Even though there was a small inkling at the back of his mind telling him to knock on the closed door, Freddie opened the door and instantly shocked to find Cassie and Danny laying there with just a sheet covering them.

“Oh my god!” He yelled before he slammed the door shut, standing there for a moment before Sam walked into the hallway.

“What was that?” She asked and he pulled her back into the living room.

“You don’t wanna know.”

“How long has this been going on?” Sam asked 10 minutes later when Cassie and Danny had put some clothes on and had come into the living room and the couple looked at each other.

“About a month.” Danny replied.

“A month? Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Freddie asked and Cassie sighed.

“At first we liked having it secret and yesterday we decided to tell everyone but it wasn’t exactly the right time.” Cassie said and Freddie looked over at the window.

“We know we should have said something but it was nice having something to ourselves I guess.” Danny said and Cassie nodded, Sam nodding before turning to Freddie who was biting his lip.

“You okay?” Sam asked and Freddie smiled, his smile soon turning into giggles.

“What’s so funny?” Cassie asked, but the sound of her voice only seemed to make Freddie laugh harder and soon, he was in the middle of a laughing fit and Sam, Cassie and Danny were all concerned.

“Are you okay?” Sam asked, but Freddie’s laughter only got worse and he was soon on his knees with tears rolling down his face.

“What is so funny?” Cassie asked Sam after a minute and Sam just shrugged, kneeling down next to Freddie and rubbing his back.

“Why are you laughing like a maniac?” Sam asked and Freddie choked, trying to breathe but laughing at the same time.

“The fact… the fact that they sucked so bad at hiding it.” He managed out and Sam raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t think it’s that funny though baby.” She said and Freddie breathed in a few deep breaths, wiping the tears off of his face.

“I can’t help it.” He replied with a small laugh following it and Sam sighed, rubbing his back until he had calmed down and then helping him up as Chris walked in the door.

“What’s going on?” He asked when he saw the look on Freddie’s face and Freddie bit down hard on his lip to stop himself from laughing again.

“We’re not exactly sure ourselves.” Danny replied and Cassie sighed.

“Do you know who else is gonna come?” She asked a moment later and Chris shrugged, leaning against the door and crossing his arms.

“Katie is bringing a couple of friends I think and Pete and Amber will be here soon. How are you feeling today Freddie?” He asked.

“Not really sure yet, but so far I’m alright. Although I think I’m scarred to life.” He replied.

“You didn’t even see anything.” Danny said and Cassie elbowed him in the ribs, her face going bright red.

“What? He didn’t.” He replied and Freddie put his face in his hands.

“Please stop. My insides hurt.” He laughed out and Sam smiled, finding it slightly amusing now herself.

“What did I miss?” Chris asked.

“Freddie walking in on these two doing… something.” Sam said and Chris grinned.

“What a great start to the day.” He said and Cassie went redder.

“Shut up.” She snapped and Danny rolled his eyes.

“Who wants coffee?” He asked and all three teens put their hands up.

“I’ll help.” Cassie said.

“Don’t start doing it in the kitchen.” Freddie said and Cassie slapped his arm on the way past.

When everyone but Katie had gotten there, the group were sitting in the living room talking, Danny still drinking his coffee, and they were all making jokes about Danny and Cassie.

“You did kinda suck at hiding it. I mean, we all sort of guessed it.” Millie said and Cassie rolled her eyes.

“Just stop talking about it now please.” She said and the others all grinned.

“So how much did Freddie really see?” Amber asked and Cassie groaned.

“They’re having fun. And he didn’t actually see anything so it’s not that bad.” Danny said and Cassie sighed, the others laughing a bit as Katie walked in, a man and a woman following behind her.

“Hey Katie.” Pete said and she smiled, looking over at Danny who had just walked over to the table to pick up his phone.

“Freddie, you feeling alright?” Katie asked and Freddie nodded, a weak smile on his face.

“Definitely better than yesterday.” He replied and Katie nodded.

“This is Joshua and Chelsea. I brought them along so they could help out.” Katie replied and Pete nodded, looking over at Danny who was looking down at his phone.

“How did you manage to bring him back from being insane?” Joshua asked Sam and Chelsea elbowed him.

“That’s what we’re here to find out.” Katie replied and Danny looked up, staring at the three for a moment before his eyes went wide and he dropped his mug.

“Hey Danny.” Chelsea said and Danny just stared at her in shock.

“How are you?” She asked after a moment and Danny closed his mouth, staring at her for a few moments before he put his phone on the table and then quickly walked out of the back door.

“Danny.” Cassie said as she got up and followed him out, everyone but Pete staring at Chelsea.

“You shouldn’t have brought her here.” Pete said.

“I shouldn’t have stopped her from visiting family either. She insisted to come.” Katie replied and Pete turned to Chelsea.

“Why is my brother a vampire?” She asked.

“Your father tried to kill him. He was lucky that I heard the gunshots otherwise we would have met at his funeral.” Pete replied and Chelsea looked down at her hands.

“I thought I had to leave him.” She replied.

“I thought I had to leave my family too, but we can’t believe everything that we’re told now can we? Freddie was the one that taught me that.” Pete said and Freddie raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“Let’s not start a fight okay? Why don’t you all relax and we’ll wait for Danny and Cassie to get back.” Amber said and Pete nodded, noticing she seemed a little tense.

“You alright?” He asked and Amber nodded, glancing at Freddie who looked down at his lap, his eyes still staring down when Sam grabbed his hand.

“So what is the last thing you remember?” Katie asked as she sat down on the coffee table in front of him and he looked at her through his lashes.

“Being in the museum bathroom.” He replied.

“Why were you in there?” She asked and, after looking at Sam for a second, he sighed.

“I wasn’t feeling well and I felt like I was gonna throw up.” He replied and Sam squeezed his hand, knowing why he didn’t mention the tattoo.

“Did you feel any pain before you blacked out?” Katie asked.

“It felt as though someone had stabbed me in the back, but they didn’t. Why?” He asked.

“I asked around and apparently the police are looking for you. Your blood, a lot of it, was found in the bathroom all over the sink and floor. The man that you… attacked only got a tiny amount of blood on the wall in comparison.” Katie said and everyone frowned.

“How is that possible?” Gabe asked.

“It’s usually not.” Katie replied and everyone looked at Freddie who was frowning.

“There are no cuts or anything on his body.” Sam said.

“I had a dream last night for the ten minutes that I actually slept that I was in the bathroom and I threw up. At least I think it was a dream.” Freddie said.

“Do you remember anything else from the dream?” Pete asked.

“There was a dead man on the floor and there was blood on the wall and… it wasn’t a dream was it?” He asked.

“It could be, but throwing up wouldn’t explain why your blood was found.” Katie replied.

“He wasn’t the only vampire there.” Chris said.

“How do you know that?” Millie asked.

“It’s a thought. If someone else was there then it would make sense as to why his blood was found everywhere. You said you felt as if you had been stabbed in the back. What if you had been but it healed quickly because all of your senses were in overdrive?” Chris asked.

“That makes a lot of sense. But who would do that?” Pete asked.

“Any vampire that feels that vampires should live like the natural vampire they are.” Chris replied.

“Like the vampire that turned me?” Pete asked and Katie nodded.

“Katie, do you think that you could maybe get hold of the security cameras at the museum to see if anyone other than Freddie leaves the bathroom?” Pete asked, but before Katie could answer, Freddie spoke up.

“There isn’t any cameras around that area because people kept complaining that you could see into the bathrooms when the door was opened. The closest security camera to the toilets is in the hallway that’s next to the toilets and leads to the Egyptian exhibit.” He said and everyone looked at him in confusion.

“I go there all of the time, especially after my father died. It stopped me from thinking about it.” Freddie replied.

“Do you know where all of the cameras are?” Millie asked and Freddie nodded.

“Where are the security cameras in the artefacts exhibit and the Egyptian one?” Chris asked.

“In the artefacts room there’s one in the corner right near the door and another one near the more expensive artefacts on the other side of the room and in the Egyptian room they were all down because of the maintenance work. They accidently cut through a cord when tearing things down.” Freddie said.

“How do you know that?” Sam asked.

“Because I go so often I’m good friends with most of the workers there. Why exactly?” Freddie asked.

“There is a chance that while on your rampage because you knew where everything was you avoided the cameras and went to the places you knew you may not have been caught.” Katie replied and Freddie frowned.

“I killed people in those rooms?” He asked.

“Okay. I think that’s enough of this for now. We don’t we take a few minutes break and come back to this later?” Sam asked.

“No. Did I kill people in those rooms?” Freddie asked again and Pete sighed.

“Yes. You attacked 3 in both rooms and 1 man in the bathroom. 6 people were killed.” He said.

“7. I killed 7.” Freddie said.

“No. Only 6. One of them survived. Just.” Pete replied and Freddie nodded, staring at the ground for a moment before getting up.

“I need some air. I’ll be back soon.” He said and Sam nodded, everyone watching him walk out of the cabin and into the area outside.

Beginning to pace around a small bit of the area around the house, Freddie ran his hands through his hair and tried to breathe, finding it harder with each second that passed.

“One of them survived. Maybe I can find out what his name is.” Freddie told himself quietly before squatting down and taking a few deep breaths, standing up and then running as fast as he could through the forest, his running getting faster when he heard his name getting called out back at the cabin.

As he was running, a sharp pain in his head make him stop suddenly and a name (Jasper) filled his head. Knowing somehow that that was the name of the person of the person he almost killed, Freddie started running again and this time at vampire speed, his legs getting him to the hospital in five minutes from the forest.

“Was there a Jasper admitted here yesterday?” Freddie asked the lady at the front desk and after a moment of her typing away on her computer, she looked up with a small smile.

“Room 181. Want me to show you where it is?” She asked and Freddie shook his head.

“I’ll be okay but thanks.” He replied before turning and walking down the hallway, walking quickly down the halls of the hospital until he reached room 181.

Taking a deep breath, Freddie knocked on the door and then slowly opened it to see the tour guide from the museum Jessica and a man who he guessed was Jasper laying on the bed.

“Get out.” Jasper said in a panicked voice when he saw him, his eyes opened wide and Freddie closed the door, staying right near it.

“Please just listen. I’ll stay right here the whole time.” Freddie said and Jasper gripped Jessica’s hand a little tighter, his face going even paler then it was.

“I know you were the one that tried to kill me and killed my friends.” Jasper said.

“I swear that I didn’t mean to. I-I didn’t even know what I was doing. I don’t remember anything from the time at the museum. All I know is that I passed out in a bathroom and woke up in the forest.” Freddie said.

“I don’t believe that. You seemed to know exactly what you were doing. Yu killed my friends without a second thought.” Jasper said and Freddie stepped forward, stopping when Jasper tried to back away from him even more.

“I swear I didn’t mean to kill them. If I did I wouldn’t have come here to talk to you. If I really wanted to kill you I would have.” Freddie said.

“Where are your red eyes? Yesterday you had red eyes.” Jasper said and Jessica looked back and forth for a moment.

“He has brown eyes honey.” She said.

“Yesterday they were red. And he had fangs.” Jasper said

“I think you were seeing things.” Jessica said.

“He wasn’t. I probably did. But I usually only get fangs when I use venom.” Freddie said and Jessica looked at him like he was insane.

“Venom?” Jasper asked with even wider eyes.

“Okay. Please explain yourself.” Jessica said and Freddie sighed before closing his eyes, opening them a second later to show his bright red eyes, Jessica freezing in shock.

“You said venom. Does that mean I’m gonna be…. be a vampire or whatever you are?” Jasper asked.

“Well, does your throat ache? And can you hear her heartbeat?” Freddie asked and Jasper shook his head.

“Then maybe not. The venom works pretty quickly and only on almost dead people.” Freddie said.

“What about already dead people?” Jasper asked and Freddie shrugged making Jasper look down for a moment.

“Turn me.” He said and Freddie raised his eyebrows.

“What?” Freddie asked.

“Turn me into a vampire.” Jasper said again and Jessica snapped back into reality, noticing Freddie’s eyes were back to brown already.

“Are you serious?” She asked and Jasper nodded.

“He killed 2 of my best friends. This is the least he can do for me.” Jasper said and Jessica sighed before walking passed Freddie to the door and locking it.

“Turn him and you turn me.” She said as she walked back to the bed and Freddie just stared at them in shock.

“I’m not turning you.” He said.

“Listen kid. I don’t care if you don’t remember what the hell you didn’t mean to do, but you made me and Jasper lose two amazing friends. You owe us so how about you move your butt over hear and turn us.” Jessica said fiercely and Freddie just stared at them before sighing.

“You do realise that I’m gonna have to almost kill you right? He is already almost dead from lack of blood but you aren’t.” Freddie said and Jessica visibly swallowed.

“Then so be it. Drink my blood.” She said and Freddie sighed.

“I’m going to be in so much trouble for this.” He said before walking over to the bed and grabbing Jasper’s arm, taking a deep breath before biting into his arm and pushing his fangs out, pulling away a moment later and moaning in pain. Even though he was in pain though, Freddie walked around the bed and then moved Jessica’s hair away from her neck and biting into it, drinking until he had to put his arm around her to hold her up and then stopping, growing his fangs and pushing his venom into her, sitting her in a chair a moment later and then turning to Jasper just as he passed out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Down in the morgue, the bodies of John and Kyle lay on the tables, having both just had autopsies done, Kyle’s insides having been put back into his body.

The man that worked down there had just left the room to give a report to an officer and he had switched off the lights. As he went to lock the door however, a clattering sound came from behind him and he turned around, flicking the lights back on.

“Hello? Who’s in here?” He called out, slowly walking closer to the bodies. As he got closer however, something hard hit him in the back of the head and he fell to the floor, everything going black.

After a few seconds though, his eyes opened slightly to a blurry vision and he watched as a smallish person wearing a dress stood in between the bodies, his vision going black again for a moment, his eyes opening again as two taller and more buff people took the bodies out of the room, his word going black around him, this time it all staying black.


	14. Chapter 14

Opening his eyes, Freddie groaned from the stiff feeling in all of his joints. After turning Jasper and Jessica, Freddie had gone to sleep in a hospital chair waiting for them to wake up and he was now regretting that decision.

“You’re finally up.” Jessica said and Freddie looked over to her.

“What time is it?” Freddie asked as he stood up and stretched, his joints all cracking as he did so.

“About 7pm. I’ve been awake for half an hour and Jessica and hour.” Jasper replied and Freddie nodded, cracking his neck before walking over to the bed and grabbing the railing.

“So how are you both feeling?” Freddie asked and Jasper put his hand around his neck, his eyes getting a little redder as with Jessica’s.

“Okay. You need to hunt.” Freddie said and Jasper’s eyes went wide and he backed into his pillows.

“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure you don’t go into a frenzy. I’ll just keep myself in check and won’t breathe until it’s over.” Freddie said and Jessica nodded, placing her hand on Jasper’s shoulder and squeezing.

“First thing though, Jasper needs some clothes and then we need to escape from the hospital without you two attacking anybody.” Freddie said.

“Well, where could we get some clothes for him?” Jessica asked and after a moment, a lightbulb clicked and Freddie smiled.

“Stay right here.” He said before he sprinted out and full speed, surprised he could just use his speed without being in serious trouble.

It was 10 minutes later when Freddie arrived back in the hospital room with a shirt and jeans.

“I think these might fit.” He said and Jasper took them before looking up at Jessica who shrugged.

“Stay with me and don’t make it obvious that you’re sneaking out. If anyone asks we were visiting a friend who was admitted here last night.” Freddie replied when Jasper was dressed and Jessica took Jasper’s hand.

“Won’t people recognise me though?” Jasper asked.

“Probably not. There was a car accident involving three cars and 12 people and a few other incidents that they’re dealing with right now so they may not notice you. If they do however, just feign ignorance.” Freddie replied and Jasper nodded, linking his fingers with Jessica’s as Freddie opened the door and looked up and down the halls.

“Okay. Let’s go.” Freddie said and the three slid out of the room, walking casually down the hallway, getting almost to the lobby when they were stopped by none other than Marisa.

“Mum!” Freddie said and Marisa frowned.

“What are you doing here? Is everything alright? Did something bad happen?” Marisa asked.

“No I’m okay mum. How is work going?” Freddie asked and Marisa sighed.

“Busy. I wish I could stop and have lunch but I have to go now. Stay safe Freddiebear.” Marisa said before she looked over at Jasper and frowned.

“You look familiar.” She said and Freddie heard Jasper’s heart speed up a bit until Marisa shook her head and then hugged Freddie goodbye, walking down the hall quickly and letting Freddie, Jasper and Jessica leave the hospital.

“Well that was simple.” Jessica said as the cool night breeze hit them and Freddie sighed.

“Now we have to get out here before you two smell blood and expose us.” Freddie said.

“Wait. How has no one noticed our bright red eyes?” Jasper asked as they hurried out of the parking lot and Freddie shrugged.

“Don’t question it. Just hope that no one realises before we can do something about it.” Freddie replied and the newborn vampires glanced at each other before hurrying after him.

After walking for a good half an hour and getting to where the richer houses were, 2 men were escaping from the back yard with sacks full of stuff and both were decked out in black.

“Dude. That was the quickest we’ve ever gotten in and out.” One of the said and the other slapped him over the head.

“Do you not know how to shut up or something?” He asked in a whisper, his voice deeper and older sounding.

“Sorry.” The younger one said quieter and the man sighed.

“Let’s just get out of here.” He said.

“I don’t think so genius.” Freddie replied before grabbing both of them by the necks, his eyes going red, almost as bright as Jasper and Jessica’s who were behind Freddie, both looking excited.

“What the hell?” The older one managed out and the younger one stopped fighting.

“Papa, let it happen. They won’t kill us will you?” He asked Freddie who smiled.

“You really are a genius. You’ll just wake up in hospital or in a prison cell.” Freddie replied before he looked at Jasper and Jessica and summoned them forward, letting them take a guy each and letting go of their necks, the older man fighting against Jasper’s hold. Waiting for his nod of approval, Jasper and Jessica bit down into the men’s necks and when they stopped moving and slumped against Jasper and Jessica, Freddie pulled them away, letting them growl at him.

“Enough. You’ll kill them if you go any further.” Freddie said and they calmed down, Jessica calming quicker and wiping her mouth as Freddie pulled his phone out.

“Whoops. I have 30 messages and missed calls. Okay. Once we call the police and ambulance and they’ve arrived, we go somewhere where you guys can get some rest. The first few hours are the hardest, but once you’re past the want to drink everyone’s blood you’ll be alright.” Freddie said and the couple nodded, Jasper wrapping an arm around her and pulling her close as Freddie rang 911.

At the cabin, Sam was pacing like mad almost in panic mode as to where Freddie was. He had been gone all day and he hadn’t been answering his phone, making her worry that something bad had really happened to him.

“Sam, I’m sure he’s fine right now. He probably just needed to clear his head.” Cassie said from the couch and Sam ran her fingers through her hair, glancing at her and Danny who’s head was in Cassie’s lap as he slept, Katie, Chelsea and Joshua having gone out of the cabin to get a hotel to stay in while they were in Seattle, Millie, Gabe and Chris sitting on the armchairs while Pete and Amber sat on the coffee table, it having been pushed away from the couch so they could sit.

“He wouldn’t have just taken off like that without saying something.” Sam said.

“Maybe his phone died and he can’t get in touch or something. He’s probably on his way back here as we speak.” Millie said.

“Yeah right.” Sam snapped, but moments later the front door was opened and after a few seconds, Freddie stepped into the living room followed by Jasper and Jessica.

“Freddie!” Sam yelled before she raced over to him and flung her arms around him, Freddie holding her tight.

“I’m sorry I didn’t call you. I fell asleep.” Freddie replied and Sam tightened her grip on him.

“Who are your friends?” Pete asked and Sam pulled back, seeing a guilty look on Freddie’s face.

“Did you turn more people into vampires?” Pete asked and Freddie looked down.

“This is ridiculous. That’s 4 people.” Pete said and Chris stood up.

“How did you stand the pain of two people at once?” He asked and Freddie shrugged.

“They asked me to do it as a sort of payment for killing their friends.” He replied and Pete ran his fingers through his hair.

“You can’t keep doing this. You can’t save everybody.” Pete said loudly and Freddie frowned, Sam walking over to the couch and standing behind it.

“I know that, but they asked me to do it and I owe them for what I did.” Freddie said.

“You made a mistake. You didn’t owe anybody.” Pete replied and Freddie frowned.

“Of course I did. I killed six people Pete. And don’t call yourself a saint. You knew where Danny’s sister was the entire time. I could see it on your face when you first mentioned her name and Danny got curious.” Freddie said and Pete glared daggers at him.

“She told me not to say anything because I owed her.” Pete said.

“And I owed Jasper and Jessica. I don’t understand why it’s such a problem.” Freddie said.

“Well who will look after them while they’re cravings? You can’t be trusted.” Pete snapped, his eyes widening when he realised what he said.

“I can’t be trusted? Is that how you all feel?” Freddie asked and Sam shook her head. The rest of them however, looked away and Freddie felt anger and a stinging feeling in his chest.

“Thanks for the support guys. I can really count on your guys.” Freddie said.

“Freddie. It’s not like that. We just think you need to be careful for a couple of days until we know that you won’t flip out again.” Gabe said and Freddie shook his head.

“Tell me the truth. When I was gone, did you or did you not think I was attacking an innocent stranger on the streets?” Freddie asked and they all stayed silent, Freddie’s annoyance getting stronger and making him growl slightly.

“Freddie, please calm down.” Sam said.

“It’s not you I’m mad at.” Freddie replied Pete looked at Amber who got up and moved to stand next to Sam as Freddie glared at Pete, his arms crossed. Sam and Cassie both knew Freddie wouldn’t do anything about his annoyance and would just let it float out, but what they didn’t expect, what not even Freddie expected, was for Jasper and Jessica to suddenly snarl and launch themselves at Pete and Chris, simultaneously lifting them and throwing them into the wall.

“Whoa. What the heck?” Gabe shouted as he and Millie jumped up and Jasper turned on them, his eyes bright red. Walking slowly towards Millie and Gabe with a rage in their eyes, Chris came up behind Jessica and dragged her back, Jasper then turning on him and growling, his fangs coming out as he grabbed Jessica’s arm and yanked her back before grabbing Chris by the neck and slowly lifting him, Chris trying to pull his hand off and trying to breathe.

“We have to stop him.” Millie said and Pete went to attack before he suddenly stopped in his tracks when a loud, powerful voice sounded throughout the cabin.

“STOP!” Freddie yelled and Chris watched as Jasper’s eyes went from red back to their normal colour and he dropped Chris, stumbling back a bit and having Jessica wrap an arm around him.

“What… was… that?” Chris managed out as he rubbed his throat and Jasper looked over at Freddie.

“It was like… it was like I could hear him telling me that he wished he could hit them and then I felt his anger.” Jasper replied.

“Same here. It was like he couldn’t attack so we had to for him.” Jessica said and everyone turned to Freddie who looked shocked.

“I didn’t tell them to do anything.” He said.

“We heard you. We did as you told us.” Jasper said and Sam walked over to Freddie who looked slightly terrified.

“Sam, I swear I didn’t.” He said.

“I know. Something weird is just going on.” Sam said and then she pulled him into her arms, Freddie’s arms wrapping around her waist and his face hidden by her shoulder, Sam just holding him while looking over at the group in worry.

After things had settled down a bit, Chris walked over to Freddie and put a hand on his shoulder.

“I need to talk to you. In private.” Chris said and Freddie nodded, kissing Sam’s cheek before letting go of her and then walking outside after Chris.

“Okay. Yesterday when you attacked the people at the museum, two of them were Jasper’s friends and their names were Kyle and John. Last night the morgue they were in was broken into and their bodies were stolen.” Chris said quietly and Freddie’s eyes went wide.

“What? How? And why are you telling me this?” Freddie asked and Chris sighed.

“Because they’re not dead anymore.” Chris replied and Freddie’s jaw dropped.

“I can’t believe you did this.” Chris said a while later in an apartment to Bianca who was sitting on an armchair with an icepack to her jaw, Jasper and Jessica sitting on the couch next to a shaking Yvette, Lilah sitting on the arm next to her holding her hand, looking at Freddie who was standing next to Chris to the side of the room.

“Well I wanted to fix it. Freddie’s too nice to go down for something he didn’t even start.” Bianca said and Freddie looked at her.

“What do you mean by that exactly?” He asked and Bianca sighed.

“Someone stabbed you and then you puked up your own blood causing you to start craving and lose control. It wasn’t your fault you ended up doing what you did.” Bianca said and Freddie sighed, turning and pacing for a moment before looking over at the bodies of Kyle and John that were laying on metal slabs near the window with clothes now on them, the curtains all closed so the only light was from the bulbs on the roof.

“How did you manage to bring them back to life? They were dead.” Jasper said and Jessica squeezed his hand.

“I didn’t fully. I bit them to put venom in them to get their hearts moving. Only the vampire that killed them can bring them back.” Bianca said and Freddie’s eyes widened. 

“What?” He asked and Chris sighed.

“Bianca is a little beast sometimes. You were told not to do this.” Chris said.

“Oh who cares? I’m fixing a mistake and then we can scare the crap out of people when they realise that these two boys are alive.” Bianca replied and Chris scoffed, going over to Freddie and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“You don’t have to do this.” He said and Freddie ran his hands through his hair and knelt down with his face in his hands.

“I don’t know you or blame you entirely after hearing the facts, but I want my boyfriend alive, not dead. Please.” Yvette said a minute later and Freddie looked over at her.

“What if it doesn’t work or they turn into blood thirsty crazies?” Freddie asked.

“Take the chance. We all will. Yvette and I are the only humans in the room now and we’re going to risk that chance.” Lilah said as she stood and Yvette followed suit nodding, her shaking stopped and the fear in her eyes mostly gone.

“Fine. Jasper, stand by John and grab him if you have to. I’ll handle Kyle. I have a feeling he’d have a bone to pick with me anyway.” Freddie said and Jasper nodded, getting up and going to John’s side, Freddie going in between the slabs and biting down into John’s arm, ignoring the ache in his jaw that seemed less painful than before.

“I hate being a vampire.” Freddie grumbled before he turned to Kyle and sighed. Lifting his arm, he quickly bit down into it and then laid it back on the table, gently massaging his jaw and going around to the other side of the slab.

“They might be out for a while right?” Jessica asked and Chris shrugged.

“Depends on how fast the venom can spread I guess. I’ve never turned someone so I actually wouldn’t know.” Chris said and Bianca rolled her eyes.

“You’re a goody too shoes, that’s why.” She said and Chris growled at her, his eyes going red.

“Don’t make me throw you out of another window.” He snapped and Bianca shook her head.

“Uh, John’s waking up.” Jasper said and Lilah walked a little closer, stopping at the edge of the table as John’s fingers began to move.

“Alright. If he goes after you though, I’m gonna let him go.” Jasper said and Freddie glared at him for a moment.

“Thanks a lot, but I think he’s the one that didn’t see me.” Freddie replied and then he frowned.

“How did I know that?” He asked himself before he sighed and looked down at Kyle, jumping back slightly when Kyle’s eyes snapped open and he breathed in heavily, looking around the room for a moment before his red eyes landed on Freddie.

“You.” He said before he leapt up and snarled, stopping suddenly and putting a hand to his stomach.

“You killed my friends.” He said and Freddie sighed.

“I didn’t know what I was doing. I’ll explain that more later. Right now you need to sit back down.” Freddie said, but when he went to step forward, Kyle snarled at him.

”Kyle, he isn’t gonna hurt you.” Jasper said and Kyle spun around staring at Jasper for a moment before he suddenly stumbled back, Freddie catching him before he fell over.

“You alright?” Yvette asked, very, very slowly walking over to him and Kyle looked down at his stomach.

“I feel all jumbled like someone shook he up and my insides got scrambled.” He replied and Yvette nodded, looking at Freddie as he helped Kyle sit up on the slab.

“That’s because your insides fell out of your body buddy.” Chris said as he walked over and Kyle glared at Freddie.

“Look at me like that all you want but it isn’t going to get you anywhere.” Freddie said and Kyle shook his head.

“I wish I could kill you. How do you kill a-wait. Did you just say my insides were out of me?” Kyle asked and Chris nodded, Kyle suddenly looking horrified.

“Then how the hell am I still alive?” He asked.

“Your intestines were put back into your body, you were sown up and then turned into a vampire.” Chris replied nonchalantly and Kyle’s eyes went wide.

“I-I’m a vampire?” He asked and when Freddie nodded, Kyle got off of the slab and started pacing the room, Yvette watching him for a minute before going over to him and throwing her arms around him, surprising him slightly.

“Please don’t freak out because we both can’t. It’s going to be alright.” Yvette whispered into his ear and he buried his face in the crook of her neck, resisting the urge to just bite into it.

“I thought he would have woken up last honestly.” Jessica said as she walked over to John and Lilah glanced at her for a moment.

“He’s going to be alright.” Jessica said and Lilah sighed.

“I just, what if he isn’t? What if he stays dead?” She asked and Jessica gave her a hug.

“Well, I’m gonna go.” Bianca said but Chris shot her a look that made her stay seated.

“You are staying right here because if he doesn’t pull through then you are gonna get it and it won’t be from me.” Chris growled and Bianca looked fearful.

“How did I not notice she was a vampire?” Freddie asked.

“Because she was born one too. We know how to hide it if people come looking.” Chris replied and Freddie nodded before looking at John.

“Let’s hope he comes through. I just want to have a stress free night.” Freddie said and Chris sighed, the two going and sitting down on the couch to wait the awakening of John.

When John finally woke up, he seemed confused and he didn’t really know where he was. When he saw Kyle’s red eyes however, he quickly figured it out and he smiled and laughed it away.

“You’re… laughing?” Freddie asked.

“Dude, this is awesome. I’m a vampire. They’re actually real. Are werewolves real?” He asked and Chris shrugged.

“I’ve never met one, but maybe. But they’d be more in smaller towns where they’re surrounded by forest.” He replied.

“Awesome man. Hey, is my throat supposed to burn?” He asked.

“Yep. And your red eyes will go away when you first drink blood, but will come back when you go hunting for me or are threatened.” Chris replied.

“This is so cool.” John laughed and Freddie looked at Chris.

“Is this normal?” He asked.

“Absolutely not.” Chris replied and Freddie nodded, looking back at Kyle who looked frustrated.

“You alright?” Freddie asked.

“My stomach just feels weird and I can’t shake it off.” Kyle replied.

“Maybe it’ll go away when you first get some blood.” Freddie said and Yvette’s eyes went wide.

“Don’t worry. We don’t normally kill people. We usually just go after people that deserve it. We just drink their blood until they pass out and then call the cops and ambulance. If we need to because there isn’t any other choice we will drink blood from someone else but only if we need to.” Freddie said.

“Then why did you kill me and then bring me back to life?” Kyle asked.

“It wasn’t my fault.” Freddie threw his hands into the air and Bianca walked over to them.

“Okay. Why I don’t I bring some people in so that it’ll be easier to stop them?” Bianca asked and Chris raised an eyebrow.

“And how would we achieve that?” He asked and Bianca rolled her eyes.

“You and I will go find 2 people and drag them in. Blindfold them and then we’ll be fine.” Bianca said.

“I think we should take them out so they know what to do.” Freddie said.

“I like his idea better.” John said and Lilah shook her head and took his hand.

“You’re crazy honey.” She laughed and he grinned at her.

“But that’s why you love me.” He said as he jumped down and cracked his stiff neck.

“Let’s go out hunting.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next day, Chris and Freddie were walking through the mall with Carly and Sam, the two trailing behind them having their own conversation about the night before.

“I’m sure John will be fine. Kyle barely ripped any skin off of his arm.” Chris said.

“He was almost psychotic. I took me screaming at him for him to stop.” Freddie said.

“Just so you know, you made me freeze up a little myself. I have never heard someone have that much authority over someone. He just totally backed away when he heard your voice.” Chris said.

“I guess I have a touch?” Freddie said unsurely and Chris sighed.

“More like a power.” He muttered, but before Freddie could question him, an intense dizzy feeling took over and he stopped, swaying violently with Chris catching him.

“Wow. You alright?” He asked and Freddie raised a hand to his head.

“Yeah. Just feeling a little dizzy. I just... I need to sit down for a minute.” He replied and Chris pulled him over to a bench, sitting him down and sitting next to him.

“Feeling better?” Chris asked and Freddie nodded. As he stood up however, a familiar tugging feeling took over and Freddie sped off in the direction of it, Chris calling and trailing right behind him.

“Dude, what the heck was that all about?” Chris asked when they reached a cliff and Freddie looked around at the water, noticing a man on a cliff looking over the edge and hearing him call out to someone.

“Someone fell into the water. We have to save them.” Freddie said and Chris looked at him like he was crazy.

“You can’t seriously be thinking of jumping can you? The water is going crazy down there. Look at the waves.” Chris said, but Freddie just handed him his phone.

“Meet me down at the rock beach just over there. I’ll be fine.” He said before he jumped, Chris looking over the edge as Freddie hit the water and he shook his head.

“If you die I’m dead.” He muttered before he hurried down to the rocky beach. Down in the water, Freddie was struggling to be able to get a breath, but what he was more focused on was the young man that seemed to be sinking, blood coming out of his forehead.

Swimming down to him, Freddie grabbed his arm and pulled him up to the surface, getting his head above water and swimming as fast as he could with the extra weight to the rocky beach, getting out of the water and dragging the guy out of the water with Chris’s help and then dropping onto the ground next to him coughing up water.

“Who wants to do CPR?” Chris asked and Freddie looked over at him.

“Bite him first.” Freddie said and Chris’s eyes widened.

“Me? I-I can’t.” He said and Freddie lifted up the arm of the man on the side of the body Chris was on.

“Yes you can. It’ll hurt, yes, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it.” Freddie said and Chris nodded, a nervous look falling over his face as his eyes turned red. Taking a couple of deep breaths, Chris bit down on his arm and grunted in pain, pulling a second later and grabbing hold of his jaw while Freddie quickly started CPR, trying for 2 minutes before the man started coughing and Freddie pulled him onto his side and let him cough up the water, Freddie and Chris looking at each other as the guy heavily breathed after the water was out of his lungs.

“My name… is… Dylan. My brother… twin… we were being idiots and I slipped.” Dylan told them when the two of them were walking up a steep hill supporting all of Dylan’s weight as he was too weak to walk himself.

“Well Dylan, I’m sure your brother will be lucky to see you alive.” Freddie replied and Chris nodded slightly, his jaw still in serious pain.

“When you… bit me, what did you turn me into?” Dylan asked and Freddie sighed.

“You can’t tell a single soul, but we turned you into a vampire. Your eyes are red so hopefully we can do something about it quickly before someone sees them. They go back to normal after. Usually it doesn’t work this fast though. The venom I mean.” Freddie said.

“We have venom?” Dylan asked and Freddie nodded.

“But it hurts to use it. Just look at Chris. I’m-“

“Freddie Benson. I watch… ICarly.” Dylan said.

“Cool. Now let’s deal with your eyes and then find your brother.” Freddie said, but Dylan shook his head.

“I don’t care about my eyes. Take me to my brother.” He said and, glancing at Chris, Freddie sighed and then pulled him up a bit as he was slipping.

“Just point us in his direction.” Freddie said and Dylan nodded.

“Oh my god. What have I done?” Ryan asked himself as he looked over the edge of the cliff looking for his twin brother. Ripping his phone out of his pocket, Ryan frantically dialled 911. Before the call could even go through though, Ryan hung up when he saw Chris and a saturated Freddie dragging Dylan through the trees and laying him down on the ground near the edge of the trees, Ryan dropping down next to his twin and gasping when he saw his red eyes.

“What did you do to him?” Ryan asked and Dylan grabbed his short.

“They saved me. I would have died otherwise. Now I’m a vampire.” He said quietly and Ryan’s jaw dropped.

“They exist?” He asked and Freddie nodded.

“You’re looking at 2 of them. I guess now three.” Freddie replied and Ryan looked back down at his twin who was breathing heavily.

“Then thank you for saving him. Don’t ever do that again.” Ryan said and Dylan nodded, Ryan brushing the wet hair off of Dylan’s forehead and resting his against his twins in relief, hoping that he would never do what he did ever again.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologise for any inaccurate translations.

“So what happened exactly?” Freddie asked as he and Ryan helped Dylan walk, Chris walking next to Freddie still rubbing his jaw.

“Not really a conversation I want to have right now. When will we be able to stop? We’ve been walking for ages.” Dylan said.

“It’s been like 5 minutes. And we need to get down to the road and my girlfriend will meet us there.” Freddie said.

“Is she a vampire too?” Ryan asked.

“No and I hope she never will have to be one.” Freddie replied and Ryan looked at Chris and the two shared a look. The four then walked silently away from the cliffs to a dirt road where Sam was leaning against her car.

“Hey. I think Pete is going to kill you now.” Sam said as she opened the back door and Ryan and Freddie got Dylan in, Ryan and Chris sliding into the back either side of him.

“Chris turned him. And if Pete tries to kill me I’ll run.” Freddie said and Sam sighed.

“You can’t keep doing this or you could turn the entire of Seattle to vampires.” Sam joked and Freddie half smiled.

“I know, but I just, if I can help them why not? And I feel like I owe someone for what I did at the museum, even if I don’t remember it.” Freddie said and Sam put her hand to his cheek.

“Baby, it wasn’t your fault. You don’t owe anyone and if I remember correctly, a few of the people that were there are now sitting in the cabin waiting patiently for you to return with yet another vampire.” Sam said and Freddie looked down at his hands.

“Hey. It’ll be alright. Come on. I’ll drive. I got you some spare clothes on the way too so you can change.” Sam said and Freddie nodded, giving her a quick kiss before sliding into the passenger seat while Sam walked around the car and got into the driver’s seat, looking over at Freddie as she started the car, Ryan, Dylan and Chris staying silent when Sam grabbed Freddie’s hand a couple minutes later.

Back at the cabin, once Freddie had changed into a dry pair of jeans and a dark grey-blue zip up hoody, he walked into the living room and walked over to Sam who put her arm around his waist.

“So, what are we supposed to do? We have an overload of vampires in this room right now.” Pete said, nodding over to the table where Jasper, Jessica, Kyle, John, Lilah, Yvette, Chris, Ryan and Dylan sat, Freddie pinching the bridge between his nose as Sam squeezed him slightly.

“We bring someone here this time. Blindfold them and tie their hands up so they can’t escape and then take them to the hospital saying that you found them outside of the cabin coming back from getting lunch.” Freddie said and Pete ran his fingers through his hair.

“This is risky.” Pete said.

“Well after what happened last night with Kyle I don’t really want to take that chance just yet.” Freddie said and Pete sighed, giving a nod and going to walk to the door when Ryan walked over.

“I heard you talking and… and I think that you should just use me instead of going and finding someone. I know that my brother could accidently kill me but I’d rather have him kill me then… I would just rather it.” Ryan said and Freddie looked over at Dylan.

“Dylan, are you okay with that?” Freddie asked, knowing he could hear him and Dylan walked over.

“It’s his decision.” Dylan said and Ryan nodded, staring at his brother as Chris and Kyle walked over.

“You doing better today?” Freddie asked and Kyle nodded.

“John’s arm is better as well.” Kyle replied and Sam used her free hand to squeeze his shoulder.

“Okay. Let’s get this over and done with.” Ryan said and Dylan sighed, Chris and Pete standing behind Dylan in case they needed to pull him off, Chris looking away from Ryan when Ryan looked him up and down.

“Okay. Drink his blood until he can’t fight anymore and then pull away. If you can’t, that’s what Chris and Pete are for.” Freddie said and Dylan looked unnerved, watching as Kyle stood slightly more in front of Sam and Freddie and stared directly at him with his arms crossed over his chest.

“If you don’t do this soon I’m going to fall asleep.” Ryan said and Dylan looked back at him, taking a deep breath before leaning forward and biting into his neck, the blood touching his lips and making him grab hold of Ryan arms hard. Staring directly into his eyes, Chris watched as Ryan’s eyes began to droop 10 minutes later and watched his body fall limp, Chris turning to Pete who nodded and then grabbed Dylan’s shoulders and pulled him back, Chris catching Ryan before he hit the floor and then gently laying him down.

“Definitely went better than expected.” Pete said as Dylan wiped his face silently and Freddie nodded, Sam already pulling out her phone.

“Should I call 911 and say he fainted?” She asked and Freddie put his arm around her shoulders.

“No. Move him to the couch and get him to drink a lot of water.” Dylan said.

“He needs a hospital.” Sam said.

“I know my brother and this isn’t the first time he’s lost that much blood at once. Just get some water.” Dylan said and Pete nodded, looking at Kyle for a moment who sighed and then walked off into the kitchen, Chris and Dylan lifting Ryan up off the floor and dragging him to the couch.

“How much does your brother eat? Jeez.” Chris said and Dylan rolled his eyes.

“Shut up and help me get him up onto the couch.” Dylan said and Chris sighed, he and Dylan lifting Ryan more onto the couch and then lifting his feet onto it, Chris going around to stand next to Freddie who gave him a weird look.

Once Kyle had come back with the water and Dylan had managed to get a passed out Ryan to drink it all, everyone sat around the room, Jasper, Jessica, Yvette, Kyle, John and Lilah left to go to their homes while Chris, Freddie, Pete, Sam, Dylan and Ryan stayed in the cabin.

“So Chris, the look you gave Ryan before Dylan bit him.” Freddie said and Chris looked away.

“What look?” He asked feigning ignorance and Freddie rolled his eyes.

“Don’t play dumb. I saw the look between you two.” Freddie said and Chris elbowed him in the side.

“Don’t. Just don’t.” Chris said.

“Touchy about your sexuality?” Sam asked from next to Freddie and Chris glared at her.

“Very.” She said and Freddie put his hand on her knee.

“Yeah, laugh it up. I love it when people decide who I like and who I don’t for me. It’s just fantastic.” Chris snapped before he got up and walked across the room to the hallway, disappearing down it and walking into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him making Freddie and Sam look at each other.

“Hey. Has anyone seen Danny or Cassie today?” Pete asked and Freddie nodded.

“This morning. They’re spending the day out and about, mainly for Danny’s sake in hopes they don’t run into Chelsea again.” Freddie said.

“I would have thought he would have been happy to see her.” Sam said and Pete shook his head.

“She abandoned him when he needed her most. People don’t generally forget that in a hurry.” Pete replied.

“Still. It’d have to at least be good to see her.” Sam said.

“Depends what happened the last time they spoke.” Freddie answered and Sam looked down at his hand on her leg, putting her hand over it and squeezing it.

“I think I might go and check on Chris. Something is up in his head.” Freddie said after a moment and Sam nodded, smiling slightly when Freddie kissed her hand and then got up and walked down the hall.

“How’s he going?” Sam asked Dylan and Dylan sighed.

“His heart is beating stronger than before. He should be awake later tonight.” He replied.

“And if not?” Pete asked.

“Then I call an ambulance and hope that he won’t die.” Dylan answered and Pete half smirked before turning to Sam.

“What?” Sam asked, narrowing her eyes, and Pete stood up.

“Would you mind if I asked for some help on something?” Pete asked and Sam raised her eyebrows.

“Depends what it is.” She replied and Pete’s face got a nervous smile on his face.

In the bathroom, Chris was sitting on the toilet seat staring at his hands which were clenched together as he leant forward, his elbows on his knees.

Sitting silently, he sighed when he heard a knock on the door and he stood up to unlock the door, opening it to see Freddie.

“Everything alright?” Freddie asked and Chris sighed, going back and sitting on the toilet seat, watching quietly as Freddie closed the door and then pushed himself up onto the bench that had the basin in it.

“Sorry I snapped before.” Chris said.

“It’s fine. I’m guessing you’re confused about how you feel.” Freddie said.

“What gave it away?” Chris asked.

“It isn’t a bad thing Chris. You just don’t know what you want and that’s fine.” Freddie replied.

“Yeah, but my family is kind of anti-gay so I’d be disowned if I turned out to be gay.” Chris said.

“Then I would hunt them down and knock some sense into them. I’m sure Jasper and Kyle would be happy to help me.” Freddie said and Chris half smiled.

“I’m sure they’d listen to someone like you. I mean, you almost got control of me and I was a born vampire so no one should have power over me.” Chris said and Freddie frowned, thinking the ending of his words were spoken too quickly but just shaking it off.

“Look, as far as I see it you’re still Chris. Who cares who you like. That’s your business. Just tell your parents that when you finally figure it all out.” Freddie said and Chris looked over at him as Freddie hopped down from the counter.

“I’m going to go and get Dylan ready to help me handle Kyle tonight. I’ll get Sam to watch Ryan for him. I’ll need his help trying to stop Kyle from trying to kill us again.” Freddie said and Chris nodded, smiling when Freddie reached over and ruffled his hair.

“I’ll be out there when you finally venture back out. Take your time.” Freddie said and Chris nodded, watching him leave, waiting for the door to close before he dropped his shoulders and let out a defeated breath.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Walking along a hiking trail that lead through the park, Danny and Cassie walked quietly holding hands, Cassie rubbing small circles on the back of his hand with her thumb.

“You know you can’t avoid her forever.” Cassie said eventually and Danny sighed.

“I know. I just, I wish she had of let me know in some way she was coming beforehand.” He replied.

“I know honey. Are you still mad at Pete?” She asked and Danny shook his head.

“He was only doing as he was told. And he thought that leaving was the right thing to do the entire time himself.” Danny replied.

“True.” Cassie replied and Danny looked straight ahead at the trees.

“What are you planning to do about this Danny?” Cassie asked and Danny shrugged.

“All I know is that she abandoned me and I don’t want to just forgive her because she miraculously came back.” He said and Cassie nodded, the two sitting down on a bench shaded by the trees.

“How did our lives get so messy?” Danny asked after a while and Cassie rested her chin on his shoulder looking at him.

“Everyone’s life is messy at some point. Our mess is just harder to clean up is all.” She replied, her fingers lightly brushing at the back of his neck and he closed his eyes, leaning his body into her.

“I wish life would just stop you know? Just for a few minutes, a few minutes where you wouldn’t have to remember or feel the pain you’ve been caused or the guilt you feel and you can just be happy.” Danny said, his voice cracking slightly at the end and Cassie lifted her head, studying his face for a moment before pulling him into a hug, Danny automatically wrapping his arms around her in return and burying his face in the crook of her neck.

“It’s going to be okay Dan.” Cassie said as she ran a hand up and down his back and he pulled back to look at her, his eyes red from holding back tears.

“How do you know that?” Danny asked.

“I don’t, but I have hope that one day things will look up. Who knows, maybe Freddie will create a vampire army that can take down the people that have made us feel bad and worthless.” Cassie joked and Danny let out a shaky laugh, Cassie smiling and resting her hand on the side of his head, running her fingers gently through his hair.

“All we can do is try and find the good side to all of this mess. That’s all we can really do.” Cassie said and Danny nodded, resting his forehead against hers and closing his eyes again, the two sitting quietly in each other’s presence.

Just a small distance away behind a tree, Chelsea stood watching them, having heard their every word, a look of sadness on her face as she let his words sink in, hooping that one day he would be ready enough to forgive her.

* * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * 

Sitting on the armchair in the cabin watching TV, Chris glanced over to the still out of it Ryan and sighed. After leaving the bathroom, Dylan had told him that he wanted him to look after Ryan when he went out that night and, while Chris had tried to say that he should go in case they needed his help, Freddie had told him that he would have Pete and Jasper to help if things went bad and, when Chris had asked why Sam couldn’t do it, Sam only said that she was having a sleepover with Carly, kissed Freddie a few times and then left, Freddie walking her out.

Sitting on the couch now, Chris couldn’t help but look over at Ryan and stare at his face. It looked so calm and relaxed, two things Chris wasn’t, and Chris, against his will, couldn’t stop thinking that it was a nice sight to see.

Forcing his eyes back to the television, Chris leant his head on his hand and breathed out heavily. Forcing his mind go blank, Chris sat still for several minutes before a soft groan filled the air and he moved his head to see Ryan open his eyes and going to sit up.

“Where am i?” Ryan asked as Chris got up and handed him a glass of water, Ryan taking it and sipping from it.

“Still at the cabin. Freddie took Dylan out to help him with some stuff. They should be back in a couple of hours.” Chris said and Ryan nodded, drinking a few more sips of water before setting the glass down on the coffee table and standing up, moving too fast causing a rush of dizziness to hit him and cause Chris to grab his arms to steady him.

“Whoa. Head rush. Thanks.” Ryan said and Chris nodded, staring into his eyes for a moment before letting go of him.

“Uh, no worries.” Chris replied and Ryan smiled a dazzling smile, Chris feeling his breath catch in his throat.

What’s wrong with you? He just woke up after having most of his blood taken out of his body. You shouldn’t want to kiss him! Chris yelled to himself and Ryan frowned, seeing the inner turmoil in his eyes.

“Is everything alright?” Ryan asked and Chris swallowed, quickly trying to avoid his gaze.

“Uh, yeah. Yeah. Totally fine.” He said and Ryan raised an eyebrow.

“Sure. And I’m Houdini. What’s on your mind?” Ryan asked.

“Nothing.” Chris said.

“Okay. I don’t believe you but okay.” Ryan said and Chris sighed, stepping away and going to sit on the armchair when Ryan grabbed his arm.

“Hang on. I want to see something first.” Ryan said with a mischievous look in his eyes and, before Chris had a chance to do anything but look confused, Ryan grabbed his face and kissed him, the kiss lasting ten seconds before he pulled away to see a wide eyed Chris, the look of pure shock on his face.

“W-wha… y-you j-just… you just…”

“I just kissed you yes.” Ryan said in an amused voice.

“Wha.. why?” Chris asked and Ryan half smirked.

“Well, I like you for one. You have a nice face.” Ryan said and Chris went bright red.

“And also because I thought you liked guys. Although if you don’t at least you have kissed a gu-“ Ryan’s words were cut off by Chris grabbing his shoulders and slamming his lips to his, Ryan standing shocked for all of two seconds before kissing back, one hand going to the back of Chris’s head and the other his hip, pulling him closer as their lips moved together, Chris gripping Ryan’s shirt in his hands. Kissing for a good few minutes, Chris suddenly pulled back and stumbled into the coffee table, trying to regain himself but tripping over his own foot and falling into Ryan who caught him and tried to steady him.

“Okay. Why don’t we just sit down?” Ryan said cautiously and Chris nodded weakly, letting Ryan move him to the couch and then push him into a sitting position, sitting next to him and putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Can I ask what caused that little freak out?” Ryan asked and Chris rubbed his eyes and sighed.

“That… that was my first kiss.” Chris said quietly and Ryan’s eyes went wide.

“Wait, seriously? You seemed to know what you were doing.” Ryan said.

“It’s not exactly hard to figure out.” Chris said.

“Okay. True.” Ryan said and Chris weakly smiled for a second before he wrapped his arms around himself.

“What else is on your mind?” Ryan asked.

“It might sound totally fake and stupid, but until just now I didn’t know who I liked, if I was gay or not.” Chris said and Ryan nodded.

“And what is the verdict?” Ryan asked and Chris looked up at him.

“What do you think?” Chris asked before he grabbed the back of Ryan’s head and pulled him into a kiss, Ryan smiling into it and wrapping his arms around the younger one, pulling him as close as he could.

Out in an alley, Freddie and Jasper were each holding one of Kyle’s arms, Cassie, Danny, Michael and Dylan standing to the side watching while Pete was holding a girl by the arms.

“Come on man. I didn’t even do anything wrong.” The girl said.

“You were not only selling drugs but you were going to stab us when we walked down here.” Michael said.

“Yeah, but I didn’t. I don’t think I deserve to die because of it.” She said.

“You aren’t going to be killed. Hopefully.” Jasper said and fear flashed on the girls face.

“Hopefully?” She asked and Freddie sighed.

“We’ll try our best to save you. If not then we could turn you.” Freddie said, getting a glare from Pete.

“Or not.” He muttered under his breath before he looked to Kyle and held his arm a little tighter.

“Okay. Let’s do this.” Freddie said and Kyle breathed in deep.

“Yes. Let’s see what goes on here.” A voice came from near the entrance to the alleyway and everyone turned their heads to see an older man, messy light brown hair on his head, his eyes bright red with his arms crossed.

“Who are you?” Cassie asked and the man smiled, walking forward a bit to be closer.

“I’m Nolan. I’m what is called a true vampire.” Nolan said.

“You’re the one that made me turn crazy. I-I remember your face in the mirror. You were there.” Freddie said and Nolan clapped.

“Yes I was and my plan would have worked if you weren’t madly in love. Love is annoying in my opinion.” Nolan said.

“You’re the only one that thinks that.” Danny said and Nolan smirked.

“Depends on who you ask really.” He replied and the groups attention was turned to Kyle when he let out a low growl.

“Kyle, calm down.” Freddie said, Kyle starting to try and get out of his and Jasper’s grip, his eyes focused in on the girl.

“Pete, get her out of here.” Freddie said and Pete nodded, going to pull the girl along only to be stopped when Nolan spoke.

“Stop. Let her go.” He said in an authoritive tone and Pete froze, his eyes going wide and his hands shaking, trying to fight it but eventually letting the girl go, the girl quickly backing away and hiding behind Cassie, Danny, Dylan and Michael.

“What just happened?” Jasper asked.

“You’re the one that bit Pete in the woods.” Danny said and Nolan laughed.

“Why aren’t you smart? I bet it’s a bit unnerving to see your creator like this huh?” He asked and Danny growled slightly, Jasper grabbing hold of Kyle’s other arm as Freddie let go of it.

“Leave Pete alone.” He spat and Nolan looked down at him, amused.

“What is a pretty boy like you going to do about it?” Nolan said and Freddie’s lip twitched.

“I can see the anger in your eyes. You try so hard to hold it back. But what’s the point? You know what it’s like to just want and to let it take over. It’s a thrilling feeling.” Nolan said as he circled Freddie and Freddie shook his head.

“No it isn’t. It makes you feel powerless. You have no control over what you do and when you come out of it, if you come out of it, you remember nothing.” Freddie said.

“That’s because you haven’t embraced it. Pete, grab the girl.” Nolan said in his authoritive tone and Pete, whose eyes had gone red, moved slowly forward.

“Pete stop.” Freddie said in an equally authoritive voice and Pete stopped dead, Nolan’s eyes flashing a little brighter and his nostrils flaring.

“How did you do that? Only one person can control another at a time.” Nolan said and Kyle’s growls were heard from behind him, this time the growls focused on Nolan.

“I’m guessing he’s yours. Issues with remaining in control.” Nolan said.

“The only reason he has problems is because his insides fell out of his body and he doesn’t feel right inside.” Jasper replied and Nolan sighed.

“So loyal to your maker. Unlike some.” Nolan growled at Pete who just swayed slightly, his eyes flicking between Nolan and Freddie.

“Pete attack.” Nolan said.

“Don’t move Pete.” Freddie replied, Pete having stepped forward and then stopping again.

“Attack.”

“No.” Freddie growled and Pete whined, his body shaking.

“Stop it. You’re confusing him.” Michael yelled and Freddie looked over to Pete, forgetting about Nolan for a moment and walking over to him.

“Pete, it’s okay if you don’t want to fight it, but you have to try and get in control. It’s your mind. Only you are allowed to control it.” Freddie said and Pete stared at him, his eyes beginning to flicker between red and their normal colour.

“No.” Nolan growled and Kyle snarled at him, Jasper struggling to hold him back.

“You can do this Pete. Think of your family, of Amber. Hold onto all of the happy memories and let them take over.” Freddie said and Pete grabbed hold of his hair, his eyes squeezing shut.

“What are you doing? You’re ruining everything!” Nolan yelled before lunging at Freddie, almost reaching him when he was slammed backwards by Kyle, Jasper standing close by with an infuriated look on his face.

Snarling loudly, Kyle launched himself at Nolan, hitting him hard in the face with his fist, Nolan snarling back and kicking him hard in the stomach, sending him backwards into the wall and knocking him out, Jasper racing at him only to be round house kicked in the face, sending him to the ground.

“Why are you doing this?” Freddie asked.

“Because I deserve to be in control. Vampires should live their true nature and be feared, not blend into the group like filthy traitors.” Nolan growled.

“The only traitor here is you.” Freddie yelled back and Nolan leapt at him, going to hit him only to stop when Freddie grabbed his neck, his eyes bright red and his face unreadable, Pete, who was back in control, quickly dragging Kyle and Jasper to the others and standing in front of their limp bodies.

“What’s happening?” Cassie asked in a whisper.

“Freddie’s switched to the Freddie we saw the day of the museum attacks.” Pete replied and Cassie’s eyes went wide, Danny grabbing hold of her hand and holding it tight as they watched both of Freddie’s hands roughly grab Nolan’s head right under his jaw.

“It’s you.” Nolan gasped out, fear covering his face as he stared at Freddie who cocked his head slightly.

“And who is that?” Freddie asked in a strangely calm voice, one that unnerved the others watching.

“You… you don’t have to kill me. I-I can stop.” Nolan suddenly begged and Freddie sighed.

“You and I both know that’s not true.” He said and Nolan grabbed his hands, trying to pull them off of him to no avail.

“Freddie, what are you doing?” Cassie asked and Freddie turned to look at her, staring at her blankly before turning back to Nolan, staring at him before he dropped his hands and stepped back, his eyes going back to brown as Nolan began to laugh.

“You couldn’t hurt a fly when you know what you’re doing. You should have just let him die.” He laughed, looking over at Danny and laughing. As his back was turned though, Freddie picked up the knife the girl had dropped earlier that night and threw it, hitting Nolan square in the middle of his back, making his laughter stop and the terrified look come back to his face as he fell to his knees and Freddie grabbed his head from behind.

“You really are.” He said and Freddie looked down at him.

“What am I?” Freddie asked as he turned his neck violently, hearing a loud crack that made the others flinch.

“You’re King. Chris was right.” He whispered before Freddie twisted his head hard the other way and pulled up, Nolan’s head ripping clean off of his body which fell forward, Freddie staring at the head in his hands for a moment before it suddenly dawned on him what just happened and he dropped the head in shock, backing up into a dumpster as Pete walked over to Nolan and looked at the body, Cassie, Danny, Dylan, Michael and the girl staring at Freddie in shock and fear.

2 hours later back at the cabin, Chris was laughing at something Ryan had said when the front door busted open and Freddie stumbled in, his breathing fast and ragged and his eyes wide as saucers, Cassie close behind him and quickly going to rub his back as he ripped his coat off, stumbling forward a bit before he suddenly threw up the contents of his stomach onto the floor, Cassie just rubbing his back as Dylan dragged in a passed out Kyle and Michael dragging in Jasper, Chris racing over to help them get the two carefully laid on the floor, Ryan grabbing cushions for their heads to be rested on.

“What happened?” Chris asked and Michael sighed.

“We found out who turned Pete.” He said.

“What? Oh my god. Where is he exactly?” Chris asked.

“That’s the thing. Freddie ripped his head off. Literally. Danny and Pete are outside trying to figure out what to do with the body.” Dylan said and Chris’s eyes went wide and his jaw dropped.

“That’s not possible.” Chris whispered.

“What’s not possible?” Ryan asked.

“Vampires are like humans, we can’t physically rip a head off of another vampire. Unless… I’ll be back.” Chris said and he quickly walked out of the cabin, getting outside and pulling his phone out of his pocket. Once he had dialled a number and put the phone to his ear, his breathing getting a little faster when the call was answered.

“Chris? What’s wrong?” A deep voice asked and Chris swallowed.

“It’s Freddie.” Chris replied shakily and there was silence for a moment.

“How do you know?” The voice eventually asked and Chris ran his fingers through his hair.

“Because he tore a head off of another vampire. It’s him.” Chris said and he heard a scraping sound in the background.

“Where are you?” Came his father’s voice a moment later and Chris told him.

“I’ll be there in 2 hours. Make sure he doesn’t leave.” He said and Chris nodded.

“Okay. Bye.” Chris said and then he hung up, taking a deep breath and putting his phone away.

“You alright?” A voice asked and Chris spun around to see Ryan.

“Depends what fine is really.” Chris said and Ryan put his hand on his shoulder for a moment, dropping it when Danny and Pete pulled up in a car and got out, opening the trunk and pulling something out of the boot wrapped in a blanket.

“Is that the guy?” Ryan asked and Danny nodded, the two dumping it on the ground as Chris and Ryan walked over.

“We’re going to bury the body just in the woods.” Pete said and Chris nodded, watching as they unwrapped the body. As the body and head which was sitting where the head should be but a little bit above it was revealed however, Chris froze and stared down at it for a moment before he started shaking and fell to his knees.

“Chris?” Ryan asked as he knelt next to him and Chris just stared at Nolan’s body, frozen for a moment before he moved closer and shakily lifted up Nolan’s wrist, tears forming in his eyes when he saw a silver band on it that said “Once my hero, always my hero”.

“Oh my god. No. no.” Chris suddenly screamed before he started sobbing and Ryan quickly pulled him into his arms, looking over at Danny and Pete with the same confused look on his face that they had.

As Chris cried into Ryan’s shirt, Dylan, Michael, Cassie and Freddie walked out of the cabin, Cassie with her arm around Freddie who was really pale.

“What’s going on?” Cassie asked and Danny shrugged, everything silent but Chris’s crying until Bianca appeared from the path and hurried over to Chris.

“What happened?” She asked and Chris looked up at her.

“Nolan’s dead. He’s dead.” He sobbed and Bianca quickly hugged him.

“It’s going to be okay. Shhh. It’ll be alright.” She said and Chris buried his face in her neck, sobbing like his life depended on it.

“So how did Chris know him?” Pete asked a while later when they had all moved back inside and Nolan’s body had been wrapped back up and placed in the shed.

“When Chris was young he and his father were close but as time went on they got more distant and when Chris was 10, his dad, my uncle, he got extremely mad at Chris for him trying to help and Chris ran away in tears. Nolan, who was a guard at the time, went and looked for him for 3 hours before he found him hidden somewhere in the castle we lived in. He sat with Chris for the rest of the night playing board games and just being stupid and after that Nolan became the father Chris never really had and always wanted. When Chris was twelve some serial killer tried to kill him and Nolan went berserk and murdered him. Of course no one believed him or Chris so Chris’s father and the king banished Nolan. Later that night Chris’s father went to talk to him to find that Chris had packed all of his things in a bag and ran, leaving nothing but a note saying something like ‘I’m going with Nolan. He’s my real family.’ Chris and Nolan came to Seattle and Nolan did his best to protect Chris from any harm.” Bianca said.

“Well he didn’t do a very good job of it.” Michael muttered and Chris, who had been sitting curled up on the couch, turned his head and glared at him.

“He did a better job than my own blood father. When I was 16 Nolan started to lose his head and he told me that he had to leave to protect me so I let him go and gave him that silver band on his wrist so that he knew I would always care for him like family and would always be there if he needed me. He called every day even though he lost his true self. I knew everything that he did because he told me. Who do you think lead Katie and Amelia to Pete? He may have done bad things but at least he was always honest about them.” Chris snapped before turning away and Ryan, who was sitting next to him, rubbed his arm.

“Chris, I’m sorry. About killing him.” Freddie whispered from the armchair and Chris shook his head.

“Don’t be. I’m not blaming you. The real him was long gone. It was just a shell that you killed. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt but I’m not blaming you for it.” Chris said and Freddie nodded, wrapping his arms tighter around his knees when Chris wiped another tear away.

“What are we going to do about his body? We can’t leave it in the barn forever.” Danny said after a minute and Chris sniffed.

“I’ll handle it tomorrow. I know a few people who owe me some favours.” Chris said and Danny nodded, the room falling silent until Sam walked in followed closely by Gabe and Millie.

“Hey. Sam came and got us on her way here. What happened?” Millie asked as Sam walked over to Freddie and Cassie launched into the story, her, Danny and Bianca telling the story of what had happened over the past few hours and when they were done, Millie went and sat next to Chris, grabbing his hand and squeezing it.

“How much longer until your dad gets here?” Gabe asked and Chris shrugged, his eyes focused down on the ground, Gabe walking over to Kyle and Jasper who were still out of it.

“What happened to these two?” Gabe asked.

“That is none of your business.” A deep voice said from the doorway and everyone turned to look as Bianca jumped up and ran over to him.

“Uncle Romeo.” She said and Romeo smiled, pulling her into a hug and then looking around the room.

“What happened?” He asked when he noticed Kyle and Jasper lying on the floor and Bianca looked over to Chris.

“It’s Nolan. He’s the one that had his head ripped off.” She said quietly and Romeo looked over to Chris who was staring down at the ground.

“Well, he deserved it.” Romeo said and Chris’s eyes flicked up to him.

“What did you just say?” He asked as he stood up and Ryan looked at Danny who looked ready to leap.

“I said he deserved it. He was a murderer and he hurt a lot of people. He deserved to be put down.” Romeo replied in his booming voice and Chris stared at him, his eyes full of fire but his face blank.

“Chris?” Bianca asked nervously and Dylan, who was somewhat close to her, walked over to her and pulled her away from Romeo who watched him with confusion. However, the confusion was quickly replaced with fear when Chris’s eyes suddenly flashed red and he screamed, leaping at Romeo and punching him hard in the face, getting 3 punches in before Gabe and Danny tried to pull him off.

“Te odio! Era un mejor padre de lo que nunca fueron y nunca lo será. Se preocupaba por mí cuando me abandonaste. Tomó me importa después que dejé porque él se preocupaba por mí. Mató a ese hombre porque era un asesino en serie y él trató de matarme! Él me estaba protegiendo, algo que nunca hiciste.” (I hate you! He was a better father than you ever were and ever will be. He found me when you abandoned me. He took care me after i left because he cared about me. He killed that man because he was a serial killer and he tried to kill me! He was protecting me, something you never did.) Chris screamed at Romeo who had his hands up in defence, Gabe and Danny struggling to hold Chris back as he tried to hit his father.

“Calm down.” Bianca yelled and Chris snarled fiercely, his eyes going a brighter red, Ryan who was standing near the couch seeing the fear grow in Romeo’s eyes.

“No me digas qué hacer. Nunca estuviste ahí para mí y usted piensa que usted tiene el derecho a decirme lo que debo y no debo hacer? Yo sólo debería matarte. Nolan sólo alguna vez trató de protegerme y por eso fue el año pasado cuando tuvo problemas para mantener el control. Me gustaría que estuvieras en su lugar, porque al menos entonces el mejor padre no estaría muerto!” (Don't tell me what to do. You were never there for me and you think that you have the right to tell me what i should and shouldn't do? I should just kill you. Nolan only ever tried to protect me which is why he left last year when he had trouble keeping control. I wish you were in his place because at least then the better father wouldn't be dead!) Chris yelled and Romeo backed up slightly, Chris’s eyes glowing in fury and rage.

“We need to stop him.” Millie yelled and Ryan glanced at her, taking a deep breath before walking quickly over to Chris, pulling Gabe out the way, looking at Romeo for a moment before turning to Chris and grabbing his face.

“Ryan.” Dylan yelled, but before anyone could do anything, Ryan slammed his lips to Chris’s and Chris froze, the entire room falling silent as Ryan held Chris’s head to his. It was almost 30 seconds when Ryan pulled away and Chris’s eyes had returned to their natural hazel colour.

“Well, that was unexpected.” Danny said in a somewhat joking tone, but the room stayed silent as Ryan and Chris stared at each other.

“I’m just a little confused. Is he gay?” Gabe asked and Dylan slapped him on the back of the head, he and Bianca having moved more to the middle of the room.

“I think that’s kind of obvious.” Freddie said quietly, Sam rubbing his despite the surprised look on her face.

“Why don’t we go and sit down?” Ryan asked Chris in a low voice and Chris nodded, a dazed expression on his face as Ryan lead him to the couch and sat him down, sitting down next to him and grabbing his hand. Romeo, who looked the most shocked and also terrified, just stared at Chris who was looking down at his and Ryan’s entwined fingers.

Before any real talk could begin again, Jasper and Kyle begun to stir and Cassie walked over to them to help them up, Jasper appreciating the help while Kyle got himself up and then went and sat down on the coffee table which had been pushed to the side.

“How did we get back here exactly?” Jasper asked and Cassie sighed before launching into the story of the night, Sam the only one knowing that tears fell from Freddie’s eyes onto her shirt.

The next evening, Pete, Danny, Cassie, Gabe, Millie and Dylan had just arrived at Pete’s dad’s house as they were having a bonfire and Angelo and Kayla had invited them all.

“I can’t believe that we all got invited to this.” Dylan said as they got out of the car and Pete half smiled.

“Well, they consider you family since we all kinda live in the same cabin.” Pete said.

“So we’re family now huh? Okay. I’ll remember that for when you pull that whole ‘You’re under my control’ thing.” Danny joked and Pete rolled his eyes.

“Well you kinda are.” Millie said as Gabe put his arm around her and Cassie sighed.

“Alright. Let’s just get into the yard before a brawl starts.” She half laughed and Danny shook his head as the gate opened and Amber and Kayla walked out.

“You made it.” Amber said and Pete nodded, the two kissing when Amber had reached him.

“Okay. No need for that. That’s for when you’re alone.” Andy said when he walked through the fence and Kayla scoffed.

“Gross dad.” She said and he smiled.

“So who are all of these friends of you you’ve brought?” Andy asked and Pete pulled away from Amber.

“Freddie wasn’t feeling too well so he couldn’t make it but this is Gabe, Millie, Dylan, the new member of the weird family, Cassie and Danny.” Pete said and Andy shook everyone but Danny’s hand who he stopped and looked at, a strange look on his face.

“Have you two met before?” Amber asked and Danny blinked.

Walking into the station, Angelo was holding a picture of the 17 year old Pete. He had been missing for 3 months and Angelo was feeling the loss of his son more and more.

As he walked towards the sheriff’s office, a loud yelling was heard from inside and after a loud smashing sound, the door slammed open and a teenage boy about Pete’s age with darker hair walked out with a bright red mark on his face.

“Daniel Vincent Wyatt. Get back here right now!” Sheriff Wyatt yelled, appearing at the door and the boy flipped him the finger over his shoulder.

“Screw you!” He yelled before he walked away faster, getting near the front desk before he slowed down having almost run into Andy.

“You alright kid? That looks like one shiner.” Andy said and the boy touched it, flinching slightly.

“I’m fine. My dad is just a bastard.” He muttered and Andy’s eyes narrowed.

“Daniel, get your ass back into my office.” Wyatt said in a low angry voice as he reached them and Andy stepped slightly in front of Daniel.

“Move Barton. I’m not in the mood to be dealing with you right now.” Wyatt growled, getting up in Andy’s face and Andy put his hand on his chest and pushed him back slightly.

“I knew there was a reason I never liked you, but now I’m disgusted. To treat your child like that is a crime and it’s even worse when you run a force. Why don’t you take a step back?” Andy asked and Wyatt’s nostrils flared.

“Don’t tell me what to do.” He said.

“You’re making a scene dad. Are you sure you want to continue this conversation?” Daniel sneered and Wyatt glowered at him before stepping back and adjusting the gun on his holster.

“I’ll see you when I get home. Be there no later than 10.” Wyatt said before he turned and walked back to his office, Andy waiting for the door to close before turning to Daniel and sighing when he saw the bruise on his face.

“You alright?” Andy asked and Daniel nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Your son, he’s the one that went missing isn’t he?” Daniel asked and Andy looked away.

“My dad isn’t someone you can rely on. That’s a tip I’m going to give you now. You’d be better off with Margaret at the front desk and she can barely stand on a good day.” Daniel said and Andy looked back to him.

“That’s why I’m looking myself. Did you know Peter?” Andy asked and Daniel shook his head.

“But I know his friends brother Michael. He said Amber has been locked in her room for the past 3 months.” He said and Andy rubbed his eyes.

“Those two were very close.” Andy replied and Daniel nodded.

“If you want any help searching, my grandfather taught me how to hunt and how to track someone.” Daniel said and Andy gave him a weak smile.

“That’s alright, but thank you. Do you need a lift home or anything?” Andy asked and Daniel shook his head.

“I’m just gonna walk around for a while I think. I appreciate the offer though.” He said and Andy nodded before he pulled a card out of his pocket and handed it to Daniel.

“This is my number just in case. If your dad gives you anymore grief, give me a call and I’ll help you out. I’ve dealt with my fair share of abusive people.” Andy said and Daniel took the card.

“I’ll maybe see you around Daniel.” Andy said and Daniel looked up from the card as Andy went to walk out of the station.

“It’s Danny.” He said and Andy turned back, sporting a small smile before leaving the building.

“Dad? Danny?” Pete asked and Andy shook his head and held his hand out.

‘No. I’m Andy.” He said and Danny shook his hand.

“Danny. Nice to meet you.” He said and Andy nodded, letting their hands drop to their sides and then turning to the others.

“Let’s go in and meet the others. It sounds like tonight is going to be an interesting night.” Andy said, his eyes trained at Pete who was deliberately looking away.

Once seated around the bonfire, Michael, Elisa, Ariel, Jason and Emma all joined the others into the conversations, music playing softly in the background as they all talked.

“Hey Danny, could you go inside and get the bottle opener? It’s in the kitchen in the third draw.” Pete said after a couple hours had gone by and Danny sighed before getting up.

“Consider yourself lucky I’m actually feeling nice right now.” He said and Pete smirked as Danny walked away from the fire and in the back door, walking into the kitchen and going to the third draw to find the bottle opener, getting it out as Andy walked in.

“I see that my mother took a liking to you.” Andy said and Danny gave a small laugh.

“I guess so. I seem to have that effect with older people though.” Danny said, going to walk to the back door when Andy grabbed his bicep and made him stop.

“Your dad is looking for you.” He said and Danny looked confused.

“What?” He asked.

“I went into the station to tell them that Pete was home and your dad said he was hunting for you. Said something about how you weren’t where he left you and there’s no trace of you. He’s hunting for you and he won’t stop until he finds you.” Andy said and a dark look filled Danny’s eyes.

“Well, he’ll be spending the rest of his life hunting for me so wish him good luck for me. I have no intentions of ever seeing him again. Or letting him live if I do.” Danny muttered under his breath before he pulled his arm out of Andy’s grip and walked out of the house, taking a deep breath and then walking back over to the fire with a smile, dropping the bottle opener on Pete’s lap and then seating himself right next to Cassie.

“Time for the party to start.” Cassie whispered into his ear and he grinned, putting his arm around her and looking over at Pete who was getting up, Danny’s eye catching Andy’s for a moment as he sat down but then going back to Pete.

“Okay. I have something I want to say so all of you, stay quiet.” Pete said and Danny, Kayla and Cassie all smiled, knowing what was about to happen.

“Okay. So for the past few weeks, I have been enjoying being back with all of you guys in my family, but I have especially enjoyed the company of this young lady right here who I am going to make stand up with me.” Pete said and Amber blushed, letting Pete pull her up and then looking up at him as he grabbed both of her hands.

“Amber Parker, the past few weeks has been absolutely amazing. You have made me laugh a lot and I missed that among other things while I was gone. But now that we’re back together, I have been doing a lot of thinking and I think it’s time I do what I’ve been wanting to do since I was 16.” Pete said and Amber squeezed his hands, nervousness and confusion showing in her eyes.

“I love you. More than I care to admit. The time we have spent together recently has shown me that. I missed the way you laughed, how you smiled, how your eyes shine when you’re happy. I missed the way you make my heart pound no matter what and I’m not embarrassed to say that you are the only person that can make me feel so many emotions at once that I want to kiss you and never stop. I love how no matter what the situation you always find time for the people you care about and how you can light up a room just by walking in. I love the way that, even without trying, you can make anyone feel better even if they’re having the world’s worst day and I admire you in so many ways that it’s hard to keep track of all of them sometimes.” Pete said and Amber smiled at him, her eyes full of tears. Pulling something out of his pocket, Amber’s gasp filled the air when a ring with a large opal in it appeared and Pete knelt down on one knee.

“Amber Marie Parker, will you marry me?” Pete asked and Amber put her hands over her mouth as tears spilled over, taking a moment before nodding.

“Yes. Definitely yes.” She said and Pete grinned as everyone at the bonfire cheered and clapped and Pete slid the ring onto her finger, Pete standing up and grinning into the kiss Amber pulled him into.

“I can’t believe you got an opal instead of a diamond.” Kayla said as she looked at the ring a few minutes later after everyone had hugged the now happy couple.

“Well, her favourite gem is an opal so I thought it would be better.” Pete said and Amber grinned, pulling him into a shorter but still quite passionate kiss and then looking at her ring as Pete wrapped his arms around her. On a silver band the large opal sat, 3 small diamonds going down the band on each side of the opal.

“It’s so beautiful. I love it and you.” Amber said and Pete pulled her closer, kissing her temple.

“I am so happy for you. Everything is falling into place for you and you both deserve it so much.” Michael said and Amber smiled at him, reaching out with her right hand and taking his, Michael giving her a toothy smile in response, everyone quickly getting talking again and laughing, the night now perfectly perfect.


	16. Chapter 16

“I just don’t see how you could have gone that long without eating. 2 weeks is ages.” Chris said and Ryan laughed, the two laying on Chris’s bed. It had been 3 weeks since Nolan’s death and, with the help of Ryan, Bianca, Freddie and everyone in that group, he had been moving on fairly well. He and Ryan had started dating 2 days after his death and Ryan had been very open right off the bat, telling him pretty much everything except the deeper secrets he was too worried to share yet and had been patient with Chris who was having trouble opening up about anything out of what everyone else had been told, anything he knew out of ordinary being from the night Nolan died.

“It was, but I raised $6000 dollars for charity in the end so I guess it was a good thing.” Ryan said and Chris smiled, looking down at his pillow for a moment before rolling onto his back and staring at the ceiling.

“What’s on your mind?” Ryan asked as he moved closer and put his hand on his chest.

“Something that happened when I was a kid. I was 10 and there was this rouge vampire. He would go around at night murdering the prostitutes and not just the female ones. One night the guy made the mistake of going after one of the guards sisters and there was an uproar. She survived but people were still mad. Anyway, my dad was ahead of the charge and even though we barely spoke, I still cared what he thought and I wanted to impress him. On the last day the psychopath was alive, my dad and the rest of the guards were out hunting him and wanting to help, I went with them and hid in the bushes. Of course things didn’t turn out and I ended up being grabbed by the killer so I stabbed him in the neck with an arrow and ran to my father. He killed the guy and then turned around and yelled at me for being irresponsible and not doing the right thing and then saying I was the biggest nuisance in his life. I was so upset I ran away while his back was turned and when he turned back he realised what he had said but did nothing. I hid in the towers for almost 4 hours before Nolan found me.” Chris said and Ryan ran his hand up and down Chris’s torso.

“Is that when your relationship with Nolan started?” Ryan asked and Chris nodded.

“I think back to that day a lot you know? I think about whether my dad really wanted me or just wanted to get rid of me first chance he got. He never looked for me after I left with Nolan, just waited until the day before school started to drop my cousin off on my doorstep and leave again.” Chris said and Ryan frowned.

“How do you live here alone? You aren’t 18 yet.” Ryan said.

“Nolan got me emancipated when things started to get bad just in case. He was a good guy when he was in control. Even after losing it he still called every morning, afternoon and night just to make sure I’m alright. Is it stupid to still think that he could just call?” Chris asked and Ryan shook his head.

“It’s hard losing someone and it doesn’t make you crazy for wanting things back the way they were. It makes you normal.” He replied and Chris nodded, grabbing hold of his hand and holding it over his chest.

“So, our first sleepover.” Ryan said eventually and Chris looked up at him.

“At my place. I remember last week when I fell asleep in your apartment after getting you home from a party.” Chris replied.

“That one doesn’t count because I was drunk and I hardly remember you being there. All I know is that you were there when I woke up.” Ryan replied and Chris rolled his eyes.

“Do you remember me locking Dylan in the bathroom so he didn’t bite you?” He asked and Ryan sighed.

“That I remember.” He replied and Chris smiled, kissing the palm of Ryan’s hand.

“It ended alright though. I mean, you made me pancakes for breakfast along with eggs and bacon. You’re an amazing cook by the way.” Ryan said and Chris nodded.

“I know and thank you.” He said and Ryan chuckled, leaning down to kiss him and then sighing exaggeratingly.

“What are we going to do now? We’ve watched a movie, eaten. What’s left?” He asked and Chris smiled, letting go of his hand and twisting his fingers into his hair.

“I have an idea.” He replied before pulling his head down and kissing him, Ryan smiling into it before kissing back and putting a hand on Chris’s hip, gripping his shirt.

After a few minutes of just making out, Chris started to feel a panicky feeling in his chest and it only increased as they kept kissing. Not wanting to alarm Ryan though, Chris just kept his grip on his hair and pulled him closer, hoping the feeling would go away. However, when Ryan started to pull his shirt up, Chris tensed up and suddenly pushed Ryan away, rolling away from him to the edge of the bed, falling off and cracking his head on the bedside table.

“Chris. Why did you do that?” Ryan asked as he hurried to his side and helped him sit up, but before he could answer, the door swung open and an exhausted looking Bianca walked in.

“If you two don’t shut up then I am sinking my fangs into the both of you and ripping your heads off. Now keep it down.” She snarled before slamming the door shut behind her and Ryan stared at the door with wide eyes.

“Just ignore her. She’s a drama queen. Ow.” Chris said as he put his hand to his head and Ryan looked back at him, his eyes going impossibly wider when he saw the blood.

“You’re bleeding. Like a lot.” Ryan said before grabbing an old shirt from the floor and putting it over the cut on Chris’s head.

“Ow. Don’t push so hard.” Chris complained and Ryan slapped his arm.

“What were you thinking rolling off of the bed like that?” He asked and Chris sighed, flinching when Ryan pulled the shirt away to look at the cut and then applying pressure again.

“I didn’t mean to. I just… freaked out and rolled away. I forgot how close the edge of the bed was.” Chris replied and Ryan sighed.

“Why did you do it?” He asked.

“I guess I’m just not ready for… that yet.” Chris replied.

“Well, you could have just said that instead of hurting yourself.” Ryan replied and Chris weakly smiled before putting a hand over Ryan’s on his head.

“Come on. Let’s clean this up and then get some sleep.” Ryan said and Chris nodded, letting him help him up. Ryan then went to leave the room but Chris stopped him, grabbing his wrist and pulling him back.

“Hey. Wait.” He said and Ryan raised his eyebrows in question, closing his eyes gently when Chris kissed him softly, keeping their lips together for a few moments before pulling back with a shy look on his face and making Ryan smile.

“Come on.” He said before pulling Chris along to the bathroom.

A few blocks away in Sam’s bedroom, Sam and Freddie were laying on Sam’s bed making out, both on their sides with their arms wrapped around each other, Sam’s leg over his hips, Freddie’s shirt on the floor and Sam only wearing a singlet.

Rolling Sam onto her back, Freddie started to kiss down to her neck but suddenly stopped when he reached her pulse point, focusing on the blood pumping through her veins.

“Freddie?” Sam said after a moment and Freddie quickly leapt back, putting his hand over his mouth when he realised his mouth was watering.

“Your eyes are red.” Sam said and Freddie moved further back, fear in his eyes.

“Did you just try to bite me?” Sam asked.

“I-I… I didn’t… I didn’t mean to.” He said and Sam sat up properly, Freddie scooting back further and unceremoniously falling off the bed, causing Sam to crawl to the end of the bed and pull him back up.

“Hey. Look at me.” Sam said after a moment of Freddie looking down and Freddie looked up through his eyelashes, Sam sighing at the scared look on his face.

“I know you weren’t actually going to bite me. And if you did I would have kicked your ass.” Sam said.

“Do you remember the museum incident? I would have hurt you.” Freddie said and Sam put her hands on his cheeks.

“No you wouldn’t have. Because I would have let you do it.” Sam said and Freddie looked down, his eyes staring down for moment before he suddenly looked back up with a confused look on his face.

“What do you mean you would have let me?” Freddie asked.

“Well, I figured that you’ll probably get me eventually anyway so why not just give you my permission? At least then you know that I’m cool with it.” Sam said and Freddie frowned.

“So you want me to drink your blood?” Freddie asked.

“Why not? Just try not to kill me and we’re cool.” Sam said.

“Wait. Now?” He asked and Sam rolled her eyes, grabbing his arm and pulling him over to her until he was lying on top of her again.

“I really don’t think this is good idea. I don’t want to hurt you.” Freddie said and Sam ran her fingers through his hair, looking into his eyes.

“Just do it.” She said and Freddie leant down to kiss her, their lips moving together for a moment before he pulled back, his eyes red again. Leaning back down, Freddie pressed gentle kisses to Sam’s neck and grabbed hold of her hands, nuzzling his face into her neck for a moment before swiftly biting into her neck, Sam gasping at the piercing pain and Freddie groaning at the feeling.

Unlike everyone else’s, Sam’s blood seemed to have an effect on Freddie that he hadn’t expected, one that calmed him but also made him feel like the most powerful person in the world.

Pulling Sam into a sitting position, Freddie trapped her body against his and bit down harder, Sam gasping when she felt blood trickle down her shoulder.

“Freddie, stop.” Sam said and Freddie grabbed her wrists, snarling loudly into her neck and pulling her closer before suddenly letting her go completely and breathing heavily.

“Whoa. You have some bite there.” Sam said a little drowsily and Freddie stared at her, his face blank but eyes swimming with confusion and fear.

“Hey. I’m still alive aren’t I?” Sam asked, but before she could move to grab his hand Freddie put his finger up for her to be silent for a moment.

“I… I need a minute.” Freddie said and Sam nodded, grabbing a tissue from her bedside table and leaning over to wipe the blood trickling down his chin. Freddie then shut his eyes and sucked in a deep breath, slowly feeling the high he was on coming down.

“You alright now?” Sam asked after 5 minutes had gone by and Freddie nodded, opening his eyes to show his chocolate brown eyes.

“That was a different experience.” Freddie said and Sam grabbed his hand, still feeling drowsy and a little dizzy.

“In what way?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know. It was like I was on a high. Like after you… but less intense and more of the warm feeling.” Freddie said and Sam smirked.

“So basically it’s like you just had sex?” Sam asked.

“Kind of. But then different at the same time.” Freddie said and Sam moved to straddle his hips, wrapping her arm around his neck and resting her forehead against his.

“Baby, you’re all pale.” Freddie said.

“I feel kind of dizzy.” Sam said and Freddie wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Want to sleep?” Freddie asked and Sam nodded, Freddie then pushing her down onto her back and then rolling onto his side, pulling her with him and pressing his face into her neck and kissing the bite on her neck, his saliva covering the wound and sealing it.

“That felt really weird.” Sam said and Freddie smiled.

“I know. But it stops the bleeding.” Freddie said and Sam pulled back to look into his eyes, tangling their legs together.

“I love you.” She said and Freddie smiled, kissing her softly.

“I love you too Sammy.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The next morning, Cassie and Danny sat on the bed in the cabin staring at each other and talking, Danny having tried to avoid talking about Chelsea but giving up when Cassie forced him to sit down.

“Danny, you have to forgive her. She thought she was doing the right thing. You can’t hate her for that.” Cassie said.

“She abandoned me. If she had of just at least called me and told me that she couldn’t talk to me anymore I would have got it. But instead she just completely cut me off and left me alone with my bastard father.” Danny said and Cassie rubbed his knee.

“Honey, you can’t hold this against her fore-“ Cassie started but was cut off by a crashing sound coming from the living room followed by a male scream. Leaping up and racing into the living room, Cassie and Danny arrived at the same time as Kyle Jasper, John and Katie and found Sam trying to hold a violently shaking Freddie up while avoiding his back.

“Help me.” Sam said and Cassie raced over placing her hand gently on his back only for him to scream again and pull away, dropping to his knees as tears rolled from his eyes.

“What happened?” Kyle asked.

“I don’t know. One minute he was fine and the next he was screaming. I got him into his car and got here as fast as I could.” Sam said and John knelt down in front of him.

“Hey. What’s wrong buddy?” He asked and Freddie looked at him with red eyes.

“My back.” He choked out and something clicked in Sam’s brain, a knowing look crossing her face.

“John move back.” Sam said and John shuffled back as Sam sat down beside Freddie and started pulling his shirt up, everyone gasping when they saw the now fully formed tattoo start to glow around the edges.

“Holy crap.” Katie whispered and Pete turned to her as the front door opened and Romeo and Chris walked in.

“What’s going – oh chizz.” Chris said when he saw the tattoo and Romeo quickly walked over to Freddie’s other side.

“How long has this tattoo been forming?” He asked and Sam shrugged.

“A couple months I think. I found out about it after he attacked people at the museum.” Sam replied and Romeo looked at Chris.

“Does he know what his father was?” Romeo asked.

“Not unless someone else has told him.” Chris said.

“Wait a minute. What was my brother? And if you say vampire I will rip you apart.” Cassie said.

“He was more than just a vampire. He was the king of vampires. And my uncle.” Chris said and Cassie stared at him.

“You’re kidding.” She whispered and Chris just pulled a photo out of his pocket and handed it to her, showing a picture of Leonard standing in front of a random man holding his hand with red glowing eyes and a glowing mark covering his hands.

“The king has a power assigned with each swirl of the triskelion. He is also the strongest vampire out of all vampires. Only he can rip a head off of another.” Romeo said and Chris looked down at his shoes .

“Wait. So you’re saying that Freddie is king? At 16?” Danny asked.

“He’s technically not supposed to have become a vampire until he’s 18 which is when he would have turned. And for the king it’s an automatic thing. They start noticing their craving for blood on the day before they turn 18. Leonard was adopted so he had no idea what was really happening to him.” Romeo said.

“Adopted? He’s adopted? How come he never told me?” Cassie asked.

“So you wouldn’t try and find his birth family. Humans don’t exactly mix well with a kingdom of vampires that distance themselves on purpose.” Chris answered.

“This is ridiculous.” Cassie said and Danny put a hand on the bottom of her back.

“As much as we should be focusing on what the hell is going to happen next, you need to focus your attention on the boy in intense pain.” Sam said moments later and everyone turned to see Freddie gripping Sam’s arms tightly, his eyes squeezed shut and leaking tears and his face almost as white as a brand new pair of white sneakers.

“We should move him.” Chris said and Sam gave him a look.

“I think moving him right now isn’t a good idea.” Pete said.

“Well what can we do?” Sam asked.

“Give him some pain killers. We’ll just have to make sure he doesn’t attack you in a haze.” Pete said and Sam nodded before turning her attention to Freddie.

“Baby, you hear that?” Sam asked and Freddie gave a gentle nod that made him wince. Pete then disappeared into the kitchen for a minute before coming back with a glass of water and some pills, kneeling down next to Sam and giving them to Freddie.

Once the pills had finally kicked in, Sam and Pete got Freddie over to the couch and laid him down on his stomach, his head resting on Sam’s lap and a soft purring sound coming from him as Sam rubbed his back in circles over the tattoo, Freddie now passed out.

“I can’t believe he’s purring.” Cassie said as she, Chris and Danny watched him, Romeo, Pete and Katie having left to go and do something.

“It’s weird right?” Sam smiled and Cassie nodded.

“Definitely isn’t something you expect.” Danny said and Sam shook her head, looking down at Freddie for a moment before Chris suddenly grabbed her head and pulled her hair away from her neck, showing a bite mark.

“I knew it! He did bite you.” Chris said and Cassie gasped.

“Oh leave it. I let him do it.” Sam replied.

“Why? Why on earth would you do that?” Danny asked.

“Because it was going to happen eventually. Why not when I gave him permission to do it?” Sam asked and Cassie ran her fingers through her hair with a small smile.

“You’re insane you know that?” She asked.

“What’s wrong with that?” Sam asked and Cassie’s smile grew.

For the rest of the day it was pretty uneventful. Freddie had slept for most of it and when he had finally woken up, Sam had left to go home and get changed, Freddie having drooled on her at one point, and Freddie’s back no longer hurt.

“I’m glad you’re feeling better. You still look pale but definitely better.” Millie said after she had arrived at the cabin and had found out what had been going on, Freddie, Millie and Pete now the only ones there.

“I feel a lot better too thankfully.” Freddie said but almost as soon as he said those words a horrible hot pain struck his stomach and he doubled over.

“Are you alright?” Pete asked as Freddie grunted and the teen shook his head.

“It feels like when I got stabbed except a lot hotter. When I got stabbed it was cold.” He said.

“Do you want me to call Sam?” Millie asked and Freddie shook his head, staying doubled over for a moment before suddenly straightening up.

“Sam!” He exclaimed before he turned and ran out of the cabin, Pete and Millie just looking at each other before hurrying after him. The three then ran for what seemed like 10 seconds and arrived at an alley just as a man ran away from it, running like his life depended on it.

“Can anyone else smell the blood?” Millie asked and Pete nodded, the three people looking around them before suddenly they noticed someone laying down on the ground and hurried over, Millie screaming when she realised it was Sam laying down with blood pooling around her stomach.

“No!” Freddie yelled before racing over and Sam groaned gently, Freddie having lifted her up slightly so her head was on his lap.

“Sam, Sam please open your eyes.” Freddie said and Millie knelt down next to him, her eyes filling with tears.

“We have to do something.” She said to Pete who was standing in front of them and Pete knelt down, lifting up Sam’s hand to feel her pulse.

“Her pulse is weak. She won’t make it to the hospital.” Pete said with a look directly at Freddie and Millie gasped.

“She’s going to die?” She asked in a whisper and Freddie shook his head.

“No. No I won’t let her. If she can’t make it to the hospital then I’ll just have to turn her.” Freddie said and Millie put a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you sure? You promised her you wouldn’t.” She said.

“I’m not letting her die Millie so it’s either me or you.” Freddie growled and Millie looked at Sam who was quickly becoming paler.

“Okay. Do it. Just be careful.” Millie said and Freddie nodded, laying Sam’s head back on the ground and then picking up the arm Pete had just been holding, closing his eyes and taking a deep breathe before quickly biting into her arm, his face scrunching up in pain as he pushed his venom into her. Millie then placed her arm back on his shoulder but took it back off again when Freddie suddenly dropped Sam’s arm and screamed, grabbing at his face with one hand and his stomach with the other, tears rolling down his cheeks.

“Hey. Come here.” Millie said and Freddie fell into her, his body heaving with sobs that mixed in with his screams of pain, Millie just holding him there before it all went silent and Freddie collapsed in her arms.


	17. Chapter 17

"Have either of them woken up yet?" Amber asked Pete as she handed him a cup of coffee and sat down on the couch next to him and Pete shook his head.

"2 days and nothing. Freddie had another screaming fit though. It got so bad that it took Kyle, Jasper, John, Chris and Danny all to pin him down. I was holding Cassie back from attacking Romeo which was a task all in itself." Pete said and Amber sighed.

"I'm sure that he'll wake up tomorrow and all will fine. He probably just needs some time to get passed the pain. You said he was in lots of pain right before he passed out." Amber said and Pete smiled softly.

"Yeah, maybe. I just hope they wake up before his mother and friends get too curious and come looking." Pete said and Amber put her hand on his thigh, rubbing it gently with her thumb.

"I'm sure they'll be awake by the time you go around there later. Onto something else, have you noticed Michael acting kind of strange recently?" Amber asked.

"Oh yeah, he is up to something." Pete replied.

"He's been acting kind of weird the last year, but it's gotten worse in the last few weeks since the Nolan mess." Amber said and Pete sighed.

"He's probably just got some secret girlfriend that he doesn't want anyone to know about quite yet. I mean, it would make sense." Pete said and Amber smirked over her mug.

"You've given in some thought." She said and Pete rolled his eyes, putting his mug on the coffee table and then taking Amber's from her to do the same.

"I was drinking that." She said.

"And?" He wondered with a smile before leaning in to kiss her, making Amber giggle and then kiss back for a moment before Pete pulled back with a sigh.

"They'll be okay especially Freddie. I mean, he's a king right?" Amber asked.

"I am never going to get used to that title for that kid." Pete said.

"It is a weird title for him and not just because of his age. He's always just so kind." Amber said.

"That should make him a good king in the end though won't it." Pete said and Amber ran her fingers on her left hand through his hair.

"You really care about him don't you?"

"He's like a little brother. I can't even imagine how Cassie is feeling waiting though. She lost her real brother not that long ago." Pete said.

"You lost your whole family all at once remember? You're allowed to be just as upset as her with what's happening." Amber said and Pete closed his eyes and then dropped his head onto her shoulder, the two then just falling into silence as Amber stroked his hair and Pete leaned into her embrace.

Over at the cabin, Gabe was sitting outside in the shade of one of the bigger trees on his phone messaging his younger Angelo while Millie sat next to him and played with her own hair, watching him quietly as he messaged away.

"Hey. You alright You look kind of distracted." Millie said after a few minutes and Gabe looked up from his phone.

"I just want Freddie to wake up soon is all." Gabe replied and Millie gave him a look.

"You know I can read you idiot. Tell me." She said and Gabe looked over to the house.

"My brother and parents are coming down in a few days for the anniversary of me being adopted." Gabe said and Millie slapped his arm.

"That's not nothing. That's huge." Millie said.

"No. What's big is that they're bringing my birth mother Christina with them and my sister Brookelyn. I don't want to see Brookelyn." Gabe said.

"What did she do to you to make you hate her so much?" Millie asked.

"It's more what she didn't do." Gabe replied, looking down as one of his memories went through his mind.

It was 10pm and the 4 year old Gabe was standing outside of his older sister Brookelyn's room, tears filling his eyes and his entire body aching.

"Bookie." Gabe said when he knocked on the door and the door swung open to show a teen with dark makeup on and a her hair in a messy bun, her phone in her hand.

"What do you want you worm?" She said and Gabe wiped the tears out of his eyes, staring up at her in sadness.

"I have to call you back Kali. I have to take care of my dumbass brother." She said and then she threw her phone behind her onto her bed.

"What worm? I don't have time for you right now. I have places to be and I don't need you to make me late." Brookelyn said and Gabe whimpered.

"But Bookie-"

"But nothing. And how many times have I told you to stop calling me that? Just go bother someone else." Brookelyn said before she slammed the door in the young boys face and Gabe whimpered again, slowly walking away from the door and limping to his own room and going and hiding in the closet where his father couldn't reach him.

"Gabe. You spaced out. Are you alright?" Millie asked when she saw the colour fade from his face and Gabe shook his head.

"Sorry. I'm alright. Promise." He said and Millie grabbed his hand.

"You know you don't have to hide anything from me. We both had messed up lives until I went to boarding school and you were adopted." Millie said.

"I'm not hiding anything. There's just some stuff that I prefer to keep to myself." Gabe said and Millie half smiled before she looked to his phone which had gone off again.

"You should get that before Angelo has an aneurism. You know what he's like." Millie said and Gabe nodded.

"He's so needy." He said and Millie laughed.

"He has IED and abandonment issues. Be nice to him." Millie said.

"You only like him because he's eight and still has that cute factor to him." Gabe said.

"Don't mess with adorable children Gabriel. They're the ones that get you." Millie said.

"Yeah. With exploding anger fits." Gabe said and Millie socked him in the arm.

"Ow!" Gabe yelled and Millie smirked before holding his phone out to him.

"At least they can have some fun." Cassie sighed from inside where she had been watching the two through a window and Danny rubbed her back.

"Freddie is going to wake up soon. Just give him a little more time." Danny said.

"But how much more time?" Kyle asked from behind them and Yvette squeezed the hand of his she was holding.

"He's worried he'll snap and attack someone while Freddie is out of it." John said and Kyle glared at him.

"If you stay calm and just run away when you get any urges you should be alright." Danny said.

"It's easier said than done." Kyle said and Yvette kissed his cheek.

"Then think of me any time you feel like you're about to hurt someone." She said and Kyle looked to her and then rested his head on hers as the front door and Chris, Ryan and Dylan walked in, Chris holding Ryan's hand with a tired look on his face.

"Well that was a waste." Chris said as he sat down on the arm of the armchair while Ryan sat in the chair and Ryan let go of his hand to put his arm around Chris's hips.

"It wasn't a waste. We spent the last two days trying to figure out if we can find out what's happening to Freddie and Sam and why they aren't waking up and we couldn't find anything. We did find out why it's happening to both of them though." Ryan said.

"And why's that?" Lilah asked from John's side and Ryan looked up to Chris who looked down to him at the same time.

"They're mates." Dylan replied for them and the room went silent.

"Mates?" Cassie asked.

"Soul mates. When a vampire finds their one true mate, their souls combine with the others and when anything happens to the other then it literally kills them too." Dylan replied.

"Lenny told me about soul mates when I was 8, but they haven't been seen around in a long time. He told me that being soul mates doesn't necessarily mean you will date forever but you will always have each other's backs no matter what happens. I didn't get it then so I forgot about it and then I remembered earlier when I saw the term in one of Nolan's old history books." Chris said.

"So Sam nor Freddie are waking up because they are each other's soul mates and are stuck waiting for the other?" Danny asked.

"It sounds weird when you say it like that but yeah, basically." Chris replied and Ryan put his free hand on Chris's leg.

"That explains a lot actually." Danny said and Cassie nodded.

"Told you they wouldn't think you were stupid." Ryan said quietly and Chris put his hand over the one on his leg.

"Hey guys, we might have a bit of a problem." Gabe said a minute later when he walked in with Millie and Cassie raised her eyebrows.

"What kind of problem?" She asked.

"My family is going to be here in 2 hours… at the cabin. Or more a house really when you look at the size of it." Gabe said and Cassie ran her fingers through her air.

"This is a serious mess." She said and Danny pulled her into his arms, holding her as Pete and Amber walked into the room followed by Michael.

"This is like couple central right now." Michael said when he had looked around and Pete rolled his eyes, Amber going to say something when Sam stirred and let out a groan before slowly blinking awake.

"Sam! Oh my god." Cassie said and Sam looked around her and slowly sat up with a yawn.

"What?" She asked and everyone but Chris looked at her in confusion.

"You were out of it for two days and your boyfriend is still asleep." Chris said simply and Sam frowned before she suddenly got an understanding look on her face and she turned to the window were she could see her reflection and the bright red eyes.

"Red really is a nice colour on me." Sam said.

"Okay. How are you not freaking out right now?" Ryan asked and Sam turned to look at him.

"I'm dating a vampire and am friends with a bunch of others. What's the point of freaking out? I can still eat meat so I don't care." She said and Cassie just blinked.

"That works." John said in an upbeat way and everyone turned to look at him.

A few minutes later, Jasper, John, Yvette, Lilah and Jessica decided that it would be best to get Kyle's mind off of Freddie being passed out and they all left the cabin, leaving Cassie, Danny, Pete, Gabe, Millie Chris, Ryan and Sam sitting in the living room waiting for Freddie to wake up and Gabe's family to arrive, Dylan, Amber and Michael having gone to go and get some food.

"Shouldn't I like be out getting blood or something before Gabe's family get here?" Sam asked and Chris nodded, now sitting in Ryan's lap with Ryan's arms wrapped tightly around him and Chris's legs over the arm.

"That might be a good idea." He said and Pete walked over to the kitchen, disappearing for a few minutes and then coming back with a large styrofoam cup full of something.

"This is some blood that I had stored away from when Cassie had been turned. She was too weak to go hunting for a while so I brought all of the blood to her. The first night she actually went out was the night Freddie was attacked weirdly enough." Pete said and Sam straightened up.

"That smells good." Sam said and Cassie watched as Chris closed his eyes and then buried his face into Ryan's neck.

"Here. Be careful with it. Spill it and that's another fortune on carpet cleaning." Pete replied and Sam nodded, greedily eyeing the cup as Pete handed it to her and then quickly starting to drink form it once it was in her hands.

"Someone is really hungry." A husky voice said when Sam had finished just seconds later and everyone turned in shock to find Freddie laying on the couch with his eyes open.

"Oh my god. You're awake. Never do that to us again." Cassie said as she hugged him, him still laying down, and Freddie chuckled softly, waiting for her to pull away and then sitting himself up with some struggle.

"My back is killing me. So is my mouth." Freddie said when he was upright and Sam, whose eyes were back to blue for now, pulled his shirt up and then gently touched the last swirl, causing Freddie to flinch slightly and Sam to recoil her hand.

"Sorry baby. It looks all red around the edges." Sam said and Freddie pulled his shirt down.

"Probably from the fact it's a tattoo. No matter how weirdly it got there." Gabe said and Sam just stared at him.

"You really are a genius aren't you?" She said flatly and Gabe grinned at her, walking passed the couch as Freddie stood up and grazing hands with him, only to have him freeze and then grab his hand, his eyes glazing over and glowing red.

"Gabriel, where are you?" Christina called down her hallway in her house and Brookelyn stuck her head out of her bedroom door.

"What did that little worm do this time?" Brookelyn asked and Christina was about to answer when a blood curdling scream from down the hallway and the four year old Gabe ran out of his bedroom, his shirt torn.

"Get back here you little shit." His father Declyn growled as he raced out after him, his belt in his hand and his pants button undone and shirt open, his face full of rage.

"Mama." Gabe screamed and Christina picked the child up as he ran into her arms, tears streaming down his face and bruises covering the showing skin on his stomach.

"What's wrong baby?" She asked.

"Daddy hurt me. I told him no but he kept hurting me." Gabe cried and Christina looked up at her husband with a sudden fury.

"Brookelyn, take your little brother into my room and fix him up." Christina said and Brookelyn took her little brother and did just that, going into the ensuite bathroom and undressing the shaking Gabe, running a bath as she did so and gasping when she saw the bruises that covered every part of his body, finger marks where Declyn had been holding him down.

"Oh my god." She said and Gabe whimpered, shying away from the bath.

"Hey. I'm sorry. I won't look okay? Do you want me to get in with you?" She asked and when Gabe nodded with new tears in his eyes, Brookelyn stripped down to her underwear and bra and then sat Gabe and herself in the bathtub, hugging him close to her chest.

"I'm so sorry baby. I'm so sorry." Followed by loud yelling in the background was the last thing heard before everything went black.

Gasping, Freddie pulled his hand away from Gabe's like he had been on fire and stared at him in shock, Gabe's face completely pale.

"You just saw something from his past didn't you?" Chris asked and Freddie glanced at him for a second before he looked back at Gabe who now had a pleading look in his eyes.

"What did you see?" Pete asked.

"Just some stuff that guys don't normally share with other guys." Freddie slowly answered and Gabe looked visibly relieved.

"So now we know of two powers. He has the power to make his creations of such do what he wants without actually saying anything and he can see into people's past by touching their hands." Chris said.

"Actually, I think I have three. Before the museum stuff happened I was having dreams of the stuff happening. I'm pretty sure I can see the future too." Freddie said and Sam put her hand on his lower back.

"Can we have this conversation another time when my family isn't about to show up?" Gabe asked and Freddie nodded, the boys looking at each other for a moment before looking away, Freddie to Sam and Gabe to Millie.

"Do we have to stay here or can we go?" Ryan asked as they waited and Chris rolled his eyes.

"We should at least just wait until his parents get here." Chris said.

"Exactly you nub." Dylan said as he walked back into the room with the dinner and Amber.

"Michael had somewhere else he had to be." Amber said when she reached Pete's side and Pete nodded, leaning down to kiss her and smiling when he pulled back.

"Oh yeah. Just so you guys know, my little brother has IED so please try your best not to make him mad." Gabe said and Sam frowned.

"What's IED?" She asked.

"It's Intermittent Explosive Disorder and it's where you have fits of violent rage. Kind of like your uncle Carmine except a lot worse and much, much scarier. A friend I have has it and one time he went off at school. He's the reason they're doing construction in the library." Freddie said and Sam nodded.

"Okay. So just don't do anything to make the kid mad and we should be fine." She said and Gabe nodded.

"Also, my birth mother and sister are coming so just be wary. My birth mother had serious drug issues up until 4 years ago and she still has trouble with cravings sometimes. She doesn't do drugs or drink but she gets that itch you know?" Gabe asked and Millie grabbed his hand in comfort.

"I just have to ask this but are you two dating? I mean you act like friends one minute and the next you guys are acting all couple-y. If you like each other just kiss already." Dylan said and Gabe and Millie looked at each other before looking away quickly and dropped each other's hand, both having gone bright red. However no one really had time to tease them about it as a knock sounded at the front door and Danny went to go and answer it, almost getting knocked over the second the door was opened by a small boy running in.

"Gabe!" The boy screamed and Gabe pulled him into a hug as soon as he reached him.

"Hey Ang. How have you been for mum and dad? You haven't gotten angry have you?" Gabe asked and Angelo shook his head with a smile.

"I have to take medicaton." Angelo said.

"It's medication Angelo." Lisa, Gabe's adoptive mother, said and Angelo rolled his eyes and then turned to Millie with a massive smile, his little eyes sparkling.

"Hey buddy. Can I have a hug?" Millie asked and Angelo nodded, hugging her around the middle and smiling up at her.

"Somebody has a crush." Sam said in a sing-song voice and Freddie smiled, putting his arm around her shoulder while Gabe hugged Lisa and his adoptive father Lachlan and his birth mother Christina, everyone noticing the quick and cold hug he gave his sister Brookelyn.

"Well, while it is lovely to meet you, we have places to be so we're going to head out. It was an honour to meet you all." Chris said once the greetings had gone around and Lisa smiled nodding as he and Ryan walked out of the cabin.

"We should get going to. We have a wedding to plan. Have a great day." Amber said and she and Pete quickly followed after Chris and Ryan, Cassie and Danny also leaving which left Dylan, Sam, Freddie and Millie there as friendly support for Gabe.

About an hour into the meeting, Gabe went outside to get some air and Christina followed him outside, knowing by the look on his face what was on his mind.

"Hey baby. You doing alright?" Christina asked when they were by the trees and Gabe sighed, looking to the house and then down at his shoes.

"Just remembering things I wish I didn't." He replied and Christina put her hand on his arm.

"I'm so sorry that I ever let that happen. I was such a horrible mother." Christina said and Gabe looked up to her.

"Not all of the time you weren't. I remember times when you were there." Gabe said and Christina half smiled.

"You don't have to just say that to spare my feelings. I know I wasn't the best mother. The best thing I ever did was give you to Lisa and Lachlan." Christina said.

"The best thing you ever did was still coming and visiting as much as you could and then going to rehab to make sure you could still be there." Gabe said and Christina's smile grew.

"I had to make sure you were alright." She said and Gabe smiled.

"I know you still haven't spoken to your sister since that night. She still beats herself up for not comforting you when it first happened." Christina said.

"I'm not angry at her about that. She had no idea. I'm angry because she shoved me away right before I got adopted. She got really angry that I was getting adopted and she called me horrible names." Gabe said and Christina put her hand on his cheek.

"At least just talk to her about it okay? You should talk to someone about all of it. Your parents don't have to know anything and neither do any of your friends. Just talk to someone so it isn't hanging over your head anymore." She said and Gabe sighed.

"I just feel like it's something that no one else would really understand." Gabe said.

"Honey, I know what that feels like but trust me. Talking helps. It helped me and it still does help when I have bad days." Christina said and Gabe nodded, Christina pouting slightly when she saw the glossiness in his eyes and then pulling him into a hug that he returned straight away, resting his head on her shoulder.

"You'll always be my mama." He said and Christina got tears in her eyes with a huge smile.

"And you'll always be my baby. Forever ever." She said and Gabe nodded.

"Forever ever."

"Come on. Let's go back inside and enjoy the rest of the day." Christina said as they pulled back and Gabe nodded, the two both wiping their faces and then walking back to the house with their arms around each other.

Miles away from the cabin, Michael was walking through the hallways of an old apartment building that looking dingy from the outside but beautiful on the inside. Looking around him as he walked up to one of the apartment doors, Michael unlocked the door and then walked inside, closing and locking the door behind him.

"I'm back. I think my sister and Pete are getting a little curious but they have no idea what I'm up to." Michael said as he put his coat on the coat rack and he heard someone walking around in the kitchen.

"Well, it's not so much them I worry about finding out before we're ready." A woman replied and Michael just nodded before he walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge to get a bottle of water.

"I think Danny is finally coming around to seeing you again. He doesn't seem to be so upset anymore." Michael said and the woman sighed, turning away from the pantry to show Chelsea standing there.

"I just want him to forgive me before it gets too obvious." She said and Michael put his bottle on the bench and then wrapped his arms around her waist, Chelsea just wrapping her arms around his neck and sighing.

"I'm just surprised that no one has even seen the rings yet." Michael said and Chelsea smiled before she buried her face in his neck.

"Danny will come around soon I'm sure of it. I mean, who wouldn't want to be an uncle?" Michael asked and Chelsea pulled back enough to kiss him.

"Come on. Let's go and get something for dinner. You are eating for two now." Michael said.

"So what's your excuse?" Chelsea joked and Michael tickled her sides as he pulled back, making her squeal in laughter and making him grin at her.

"Let's go wifey." He said and Chelsea kissed him again before grabbing his hand and pulling her with him to the door.


	18. Chapter 18

It was currently 6pm and Sam, Freddie and Carly were sitting in Fiddy's Diner waiting for Chris, Ryan and Dylan to arrive, the six all deciding that they would get dinner there and then head to Chris's place to watch movies.

"How much longer until they get here and I can order?" Sam asked and Carly rolled his eyes.

"They'll be here any second. Then you can eat and we can go to Chris's." Carly said and Sam sighed before turning to Freddie who was looking down at his phone.

"What are you doing?" Sam asked him and Freddie pressed the lock button, placing his phone on the table.

"I was just talking to Michael." Freddie said.

"You two have gotten pretty close since 2 weeks ago when you two disappeared for 2 days." Carly said and Freddie shrugged.

"Should I be jealous?" Sam asked jokingly and Freddie just shook his head and then kissed her, Carly going to speak when the diner's door opened and Chris and the twins walked in, Carly's eyes instantly falling on Dylan.

"And she's in love." Freddie said to Sam, both having seen her googly eyes before, and Sam laughed as the boys walked over, Chris sitting next to Freddie with Ryan next to him, leaving a seat between Carly and Ryan for Dylan.

"Carly, this is Ryan and Dylan, the college students we told you about. Boys, this is Carly." Sam said and Dylan shook Carly's hand with a toothy grin.

"Hi. You're really great in ICarly. You'd be an amazing actress." Dylan said.

"You think? I always thought Sam was the better actor." Carly flirted and Sam and Freddie looked at each other, Chris and Ryan not paying attention as they were whispering to each other about something.

"Okay. Before I puke on the table with the level of flirting that will come from them, can we order our food?" Sam asked and Carly kicked her under the table, her cheeks going red.

"What are you two lovebirds talking about?" Freddie asked Ryan and Chris and Ryan smiled.

"Just stuff." He said and Chris nodded, picking up a menu from the table.

"I really want some chilli fries. Want to share them?" Chris asked Ryan and Ryan nodded, putting an arm around his shoulders and looking at the menu with him.

"We can do that." He said and Chris smiled.

"They're still in the sickening honeymoon phase." Sam said and Freddie turned to her.

"Baby, we were in that phase. We still kind of are." Freddie said and Sam frowned at him.

"Let's just order." Carly said before they could argue and Freddie looked down to his menu.

15 minutes later, the six teens had ordered and they were all chatting amongst themselves, Michael and Carly engaged in a conversation about their lives while Chris, Freddie and Sam listened to and laughed until they were in tears at a story from Ryan.

"I can't believe you would run naked into a classroom while there was a lecture going on." Chris said when he could finally breathe.

"Forget that. How is there no pictures?" Sam asked.

"The professor had a no phones policy." Ryan grinned and Freddie, who was taking a drink, choked.

"I wouldn't have done that for a million bucks." Chris said.

"Yes, but you're a bit of a prude baby." Ryan said and Chris raised an eyebrow.

"Well, now you're not getting anything from me for a month." He said and Ryan pouted.

"Hey. Freddie once refused to kiss me for two weeks because I called him a prude." Sam said.

"No. I didn't kiss you because you tried to make me go outside with no clothes on and I refused which made you mad." Freddie said.

"I still say you're a bit of a prude." Sam replied.

"So if I locked you outside naked you wouldn't get mad?" Freddie asked and Sam scrunched up her nose in defeat.

"Fair point." She said and Freddie nodded, leaning in and kissing her cheek as the food came out.

"This looks so good." Freddie said and Sam looked at him from the corner of her eye as she shoved a nacho of her own in her mouth.

"Attractive." He said and the others all chuckled before they all dug in.

2 hours later, Freddie, Sam, Chris and Ryan were in the cabin with Cassie, Pete, Kyle, Jasper and Romeo and everyone but Freddie was yelling. It had started off with just Chris and Romeo yelling at each other but when Romeo had made a rather rude comment about Chris's sexuality, Ryan had stepped in and soon Kyle had gotten fired up over the noise which caused Jasper and Pete to jump in and hold him back, Sam and Cassie trying to shut everyone up but only making more noise.

Watching the scene in front of him, Freddie started getting annoyed with the amount of noise as it was hurting his ears and he stood up a little straighter.

"Guys, shut up." He called, but no one heard him, the yelling only getting louder. Suddenly feeling a strange feeling build up in him, Freddie stood up even straighter and stared right at the group before shouting as loud as he could.

"Shut it!" He screamed and the room went dead silent, everyone stopping dead and then slowly turning to him.

"Freddie, you're glowing. Like actually glowing." Cassie said and Freddie looked down to his hands to see vein like glowing lines all down his arms and around his fingers like henna.

"What the hell?" Ryan said and Chris half smiled and half stared at him in awe.

"You really are the king."

After running away from the cabin in panic, Freddie now sat on the floor of his father's old apartment and he was surrounded by boxes of photos, letters and books.

Smiling at some of the photos of Leonard, Freddie tried not to think about the conversation that had happened at the cabin.

"What do you mean the king?" Freddie asked.

"I mean that you're the true heir to the throne of the vampires."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're the one that we've been waiting for ever since your father's death." Romeo said and Freddie looked up at him.

Sighing, Freddie moved onto the box of letters and picked one of the smaller ones up, seeing that a majority of the letters had Freddie's name on them.

Freddie,  
I know that I've never really told you anything about my life, but I don't think you're ready yet for the responsibility. That sounds really strange when I put it like that but it's the truth. You are still too young. But in the case that I pass away before I can teach you everything you need to know, I'm going to leave you a book with all of the information that you need plus more. Since everything in the apartment is yours, the safe in my bedroom is also yours as well as everything inside. That's where the book will be.  
Know that I love you and that I am keeping this quiet to protect you for as long as you can. The safe combination is down below but it shouldn't be that hard to forget since it's your birth date.  
I love you my son. Never ever forget that.  
Leonard Benson

As he finished reading the letter, Freddie got up and slowly ventured into the bedroom.

"If I was my father, where would I hide a safe?" Freddie wondered quietly to himself, but he didn't have to think for long before he saw a vent in the corner next to the bed.

Walking over and pulling the casing off, Freddie slightly smiled when he saw the safe. Taking a deep breath, he pressed the numbers of his birthday onto the keypad and, when it clicked open, Freddie slowly opened it and then gasped.

"Holy crap." He said, his eyes going wide as he looked at the contents.

"Dylan. Stop. We need to talk about this." Ryan said as they walked down the street, but Dylan simply ignored him.

"Go away."

"No. I'm not going to ignore that the reason you went to that cliff was to kill yourself. I knew from the moment you woke up that something was wrong. I'm your twin. I know everything about you." Ryan said and Dylan stopped and turned to him.

"No you don't. You just think you do." Dylan said.

"No. I do. I know that the reason you don't like to sit still for too long is because you feel like people will look at you weirdly. I know that the reason you hate the dark is because it reminds you of the time we were in that car crash with dad and it was night time. I know that you have to always wear green on Friday's because otherwise you think that it's going to be a bad day and green is your lucky colour. And I know that you haven't been yourself because you're too worried about what people think of you than you are with having fun. Don't tell me I don't know you because I do. If anything you don't know me. So don't lie to me Dylan." Ryan growled and Dylan just stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"Just tell me why you wanted to throw your life away." Ryan said.

"Because… because I have no one. I have next to no friends that would actually care about what happened to me, our parents don't give a damn about us now that they have Abigail, all of my professors barely even know my name and I'm an outcast. I have nothing and people would be better off without me." Dylan snapped and Ryan just stared at him like he was stupid.

"You have me you imbecile. Do I not count to you or something? You have always and WILL always have me. So what about your friends, you have me and now you also have Freddie and Chris. And mum and dad are toss pots and always will be. No one gives a toss about them, same with the stupid professor's. They're all idiots. But you can never say that you don't have someone because I will always be there. I've done nothing BUT be there for you and you repay me by saying I don't count?" Ryan asked angrily and Dylan rubbed his face.

"That's not what I meant. You don't get it."

"What? That you feel like everything is your fault? That you're the reason mum and dad ignore us? That you're totally worthless? That you'll never be happy? I get it, more than you think. But at least you haven't been feeling that way since you were 10 years old." Ryan said.

"What?" Dylan asked in shock.

"What did you think I was protecting you from all that time? The monster under the bed was my feelings. I tried to keep that from you because I didn't want you to know what it felt like to be alone, truly alone. You've always had friends, always had someone in your corner because I made sure of that. So if I don't count after always being there and never asking for anything in return then you are a shitty brother and I'm not afraid to say it. Get a grip and think about the people that will actually be hurt if you left." Ryan said and Dylan just stared at him in shock.

"If you want to keep going down the path of having me save you from doing something stupid then go ahead, but just know that I won't always be there to save you. So think next time you think about ending it all. Think about me and the friends that you've obviously taken for granted and how you'll be leaving us behind." Ryan said before turning and Dylan watched him walk away, standing frozen for a good 30 seconds before he snapped out of his shock and ran after Ryan. Saying nothing as he caught up, Dylan yanked Ryan around and pulled him into a hug and Ryan instantly hugged back, the two just standing there hugging.

"Next time you want to end it all, come and tell me and I'll put on Mary Poppins or something. Just don't leave me behind." Ryan said quietly and Dylan nodded.

"I promise Rynn." Dylan said and Ryan smiled at the old nickname.

"I'm still pissed at you." Ryan said as they pulled back and Dylan sighed.

"Why don't we go and get that chicken that you like from that restaurant by the college?" Dylan asked.

"So your way to make it up to me is to make me fat again? Okay. But you'll be paying the hospital bills when my heart fails." Ryan said and Dylan smiled, following his brother back down the street.


	19. Chapter 19

It had been three months since Freddie had first gone into his father's apartment and he still hadn't told anyone anything that he had found, especially what he had found in the safe.

Over the three months, Chris and Ryan's relationship had gotten more and more serious and they were slowly crossing over their boundaries. Something else was that Kyle had been getting harder and harder to get control of and whenever they went out for feeding, three people had to be with him at all times and one of those needed to be Freddie who was the only one that could really get him to calm down.

Sitting in his fathers, or now his, apartment, Freddie was sitting on the bedroom floor and he was staring at some of what was in the safe. Instead of just a book, Freddie had found close to what seemed to be over three thousand glass bottles of blood, the safe having had a secret latch that opened the wall open like a massive fridge. Looking down at the note in his hand, Freddie read over it for the millionth time in the last few months and he sighed.

Freddie, if this is indeed you reading this note than I need you to know that this is not what you think. I didn't kill a bunch on innocent people. This is all of my blood. There is more, a lot more, in another place but you won't find that for a while. Or I guess until you've finished all of the bottles in here. I know this is really weird, but I hope that these can help you with your control. I know you struggle, no matter if I'm there or not.  
I hope that these can help you if you need it.  
Lenny

Looking at the bottle of blood he had in his other hand, the others still in the wall fridge to keep cold, Freddie put the letter down on the bed and took a deep breathe.

"This is so weird." Freddie said to himself before he pulled the top off. Breathing in deeply, Freddie quickly got a hit of the sweet smell and saliva filled his mouth, his eyes turning red. Before he could even try to stop himself, Freddie downed the blood and then turned to the wall for more.

Yanking the wall open to get to the blood, Freddie grabbed the first bottle in his sights and tore the lid off, drinking the blood as fast as he could and then going for another bottle. Six bottles later, Freddie finally snapped out of the trance he was in and looked down at the half finished bottle in his hands.

"What did I just do?"

Over at the cabin, Chris, Ryan and Dylan were standing outside in the freezing cold weather and Chris was holding Ryan's arm to stop him from hitting his twin who he was arguing with.

"I can't believe this! You really went there? I'm not jealous of your boyfriend." Dylan growled and Ryan scoffed.

"Could have fooled me. You've been treating him like a mole the last few days. What has he ever done to you?" Ryan asked.

"He turned me into a vampire for starters." Dylan said.

"He did it to save your life! And if you want to be mad at someone about that let it be Freddie. He told Chris to do it." Ryan said.

"That makes it so much better. He's obviously a sheep that follows his leaders orders." Dylan said.

"Hey." Chris frowned and Dylan gave him an evil look.

"Stay out of it." Dylan snapped and Ryan shoved him.

"Back off. He saved your life you ungrateful idiot." Ryan said and Dylan just shoved him back.

"Maybe I didn't want to be saved." Dylan growled and Ryan stared at him for a moment before he slapped him hard in the face, Dylan looking away for a moment from the force of the slap before turning back with red eyes.

"No!" Chris yelled when he saw what was going to happen and he pushed Ryan out of the way right as Dylan shoved him with his super strength, causing Chris to be knocked off of his feet. As he was falling, Chris tried to turn himself around, but because of the force of the shove, Chris only got halfway before he hit the ground and landed on his left arm.

"Oh my god." Ryan said as Chris screamed and Dylan stared at Chris in shock as he writhed in pain, Dylan's eyes now back to normal.

"What the hell is that screaming?" Danny asked as he ran out of the cabin a minute later with Chelsea right behind him and Dylan just looked between them and Ryan who was trying to look at Chris's arm while Chris squirmed.

"Dylan and I were arguing and Chris got caught in the cross fire. Chris, please just stop moving so I can look at your arm." Ryan begged but Chris just rolled onto his right side clutching his arm, tears in his eyes.

"I think we should take him to the hospital, especially if he had that reaction." Chelsea said and Ryan nodded.

"Help me get him to my car." He said and Dylan and Danny helped him stand Chris up, Chris screaming when Danny accidently touched his left arm.

"Yep. Pretty sure that's broken. Hospital it is." Chelsea said.

"Kyle's inside. Do we just leave him here?" Chelsea asked when they had gotten into the car and Danny, who was about to get in, sighed.

"I'll tell him and then meet you at the hospital. I'll probably get there before you anyway. Kyle's waiting for Freddie to arrive so he'll be fine waiting alone for a bit." Danny said and Dylan nodded before starting the car, driving off as Danny ran back into the house to tell Kyle what was going on.

It was almost two hours after they got to the hospital that Chris and Ryan finally came into the waiting room where the other three were and Dylan immediately started apologising when he saw Chris's arm in a sling with a brace around his wrist and a bandage that went over his elbow.

"He thankfully didn't break anything, but he did badly sprain his wrist and elbow which I didn't know you could do. They put Chris on some strong pain killers so he would stop moving around and now he's loopy." Ryan said and Dylan nodded.

"Chris, I'm so, so sorry." He said and Chris waved his good arm.

"S' all good." He said and Ryan rubbed his back.

"Let's get out of here. Chris needs to sleep these pain killers off. His eyes are flickering red occasionally." Ryan said quietly to the others and Danny nodded.

"Chels and I are going to go find Cassie and Pete so we'll see you guys later." Danny said and Ryan nodded before they all left, Ryan, Dylan and Chris taking a little longer as Chris kept getting distracted.

"I'm going to need to grovel to both of you to make up for this aren't I?" Dylan asked Ryan when they were driving away and Ryan nodded.

"Oh, yeah."

After sitting and thinking over what had happened drinking Leonard's blood, Freddie decided to take one of the bottles to the cabin when meeting Kyle in hopes it helped him with controlling his blood thirst.

"Hey. What did you want to meet me here for?" Kyle asked when Freddie walked in and Freddie looked around.

"Where is everyone?" He asked.

"Oh. Danny said Chris had to go to hospital so he, Chelsea, Ryan and Dylan took him to the hospital." Kyle replied.

"Is he okay?" Freddie asked.

"Not sure, but he was screaming pretty loud so I'd guess not." Kyle replied and Freddie nodded before he sighed.

"So why am I here?" Kyle asked.

"Well, I thought that instead of going out tomorrow night to feed, we could do it right here." Freddie said before pulled the bottle of blood out from his bag and Kyle's eyes went wide.

"Where did you get that?"

"It doesn't matter. I just thought it might be easier to do it here where no one else can be hurt." Freddie said and Kyle gulped.

"Shouldn't someone else be here? It usually takes three people to just hold me back enough so you can get into my head." Kyle said.

"I believe that you can do this." Freddie said, watching Kyle who was eyeing the bottle. Pulling the lid off, Freddie slowly handed it to Kyle and held back a sigh when Kyle's eyes flashed red and he snatched the bottle, drinking it all down in just a few mouthfuls.

"Uh oh. Kyle, relax." Freddie said calmly when Kyle threw the now empty bottle across the room and Kyle just growled at him, his eyes bright and a trail of blood running down his chin.

"Kyle, enough." Freddie ordered and Kyle flinched, his eyes flickering between red and their normal colour.

"That's it. Just stay calm." Freddie said. Those words, however, seemed to be the wrong choice because as soon as they left his mouth, Kyle snarled and leapt, slamming into Freddie and knocking him onto the couch where Kyle gripping his right arm hard and bit into it, making Freddie shout out in pain and shock.

"What the hell?" Freddie said, going to push Kyle off until he noticed a strange look on Kyle's face, making him freeze and stare at the vampire drinking his blood.

It wasn't until 2 hours had past that anyone came back to the cabin and Sam, Cassie, John, Lilah, Yvette and Danny were all shocked to see Freddie and Kyle sitting on the couch where Freddie was on his phone and Kyle was drinking blood from Freddie's arm like it was a drug.

"What is going on here?" Sam asked and Freddie looked over to them and put a finger to his lips to keep them quiet.

"Trust me. It's safer for everyone to just leave him be." Freddie whispered and everyone nodded, having heard him over the dead silence in the house.

"Why is he drinking your blood in the first place?" Danny asked as they all sat down, Yvette next to Freddie so she could be close to Kyle but not to close as when he was like this there was no telling what could happen.

"And why is there glass with blood on it over there?" John asked.

"That is a conversation for another time." Freddie said and the others raised their eyebrows at him.

"How long has he been attached to you?" Yvette asked.

"About 2 hours and all I feel is kinda drowsy." Freddie said and Sam put her hand on his shoulder from behind the couch.

"Is he ever going to let go?" Cassie asked and Freddie shrugged.

"No idea. But I wouldn't want to be the one that gets in his way if he loses it." Freddie said and the others all stepped back half a step.

Over in Chris's apartment, Ryan was in the living room watching TV when Chris walked in from the hallway and he looked half asleep, a bandage around his left elbow and wrist.

"Hey you. How are you feeling?" Ryan asked and Chris sat on the couch next to him, curling into his side.

"Much better. My elbow still hurts a little it should be alright by morning." Chris said and Ryan sighed, putting his arm around him.

"It's so unfair that you have super healing. I would kill for that." Ryan said.

"It isn't always so great. My cousin once cracked a rib and it healed so quickly that he ribs were all crooked. We had to tie him down and break them about to set them properly." Chris said and Ryan cringed.

"I think I'll deal with month old injuries thanks." Ryan said and Chris smiled, pressing a kiss to the side of his jaw before relaxing and watching the TV with Ryan quietly for a while.

"Okay. I'm officially bored of Keeping up with the Kardashians. Why we left it on is a mystery but I will actually claw my eyes out if we watch another second of it." Chris said and Ryan chuckled before getting up and going over to where the movie/TV series collection was stored.

"Why don't we put on NCIS LA? I've always loved that show. Although watch from season 2 because I need my Deeks." Ryan said and Chris smirked.

"Of course. I'm glad I invested in the entire set they have out so far." Chris said and Ryan looked back with a smile.

"Let's put it on then." He said and Chris nodded, the two falling into another silence until the first episode of the second season started.

"I think Eric hot." Chris said after a bit and Ryan looked at him.

"You do realise that that's the first time you have said a guy from a movie or TV show is hot, right?" Ryan said and Chris turned to him.

"Well, I always think it. I'm just not so hell bent in always sharing it." He said and Ryan shoved him slightly.

"Hey. I'm injured. Be nice to me." Chris said and Ryan mock pouted.

"Awe. You poor baby." He said and Chris slapped his arm.

"Shut up and watch the show." Chris said and Ryan chuckled, doing as he was told and falling silent as they continued with the show.


	20. Chapter 20

When Kyle finally let go of Freddie's arm, everyone had believed that he would turn and attack someone. What happened though was quite the opposite.

As he let go, Sam, Danny and John braced themselves for his attack but instead of attacking, Kyle just stared at Freddie with bright red eyes, the strange expression that Freddie had seen when Freddie had first start drinking his blood.

"At least he isn't attacking us." Cassie said after a minute.

"Yeah, but now he's just staring at Freddie weirdly. Should we call Pete or Chris?" Danny asked.

"Call Pete. Chris still needs to heal more." Cassie said and Danny nodded, pulling his phone out and dialling his number.

"He'll be here in 10 minutes. He was already on his way here." Danny said when he hung up and Cassie nodded.

"I'm a little unsettled at how he's just staring at you without even blinking." John said and Freddie sighed.

"It is quite creepy." Sam said and Freddie looked over at her before looking at Kyle.

"I wanna try something. But no one else can follow me." Freddie said.

"I don't know if that's such a good idea." Cassie said sceptically.

"Cass, I'm apparently about to become a king. If I end up having to rule hundreds of vampires then you're going to have trust me and listen to me." Freddie said and Cassie sighed.

"With Kyle's track record I'm just worried." Cassie said.

"I get that but you have to trust me. I have a feeling that this is going to work but only if you stay away. All of you." Freddie said and Danny nodded.

"I'm good with that. As long as you call if anything starts to go wrong." Danny said.

"I will. How about you Yvette?" Freddie asked and Yvette nodded.

"Just bring him back in one piece." She said.

"I'll do my best. I'll be back as soon as I can." Freddie said before getting up and suddenly disappearing, everyone blinking from the sudden breeze and then looking to the couch to see that both Freddie and Kyle were gone.

"Let's hope that they're okay." Cassie said and Danny put an arm around her and kissed his temple.

"Freddie knows what he's doing. They'll be back before you know it." He said and Cassie leant into him.

"Let's hope you're right."

Over in Leonard's, now Freddie's, apartment, Freddie was standing in the bedroom with the door locked and he was holding a bottle of his father's blood.

"Okay. I wonder if this will work." Freddie muttered to himself before turning to Kyle and holding out the bottle.

"Drink." He ordered in a calm but stern voice and Kyle took the bottle, pulled the lid off and began to drink.

After Kyle had finished drinking, Freddie slowly moved closer until he was almost touching him.

"Kyle, how do you feel?" Freddie asked when his eyes started to go back to their natural colour and Kyle blinked several times before frowning in confusion.

"I feel… my insides don't feel all twisted anymore. Why is that?" Kyle asked.

"Do you remember drinking my blood? For several hours?" Freddie asked and Kyle's eyes went wide.

"Wait. I did that? I am so sorry!" He exclaimed and Freddie just smiled.

"It's okay. Felt weird but I didn't really mind. It's not like I can run out of it or anything." Freddie said.

"Where are we? And where the heck did you get all of that blood?" Kyle asked and Freddie turned to the wall fridge.

"Ah. That's my fathers. He left it. Apparently there's a ton more somewhere. And this is… was his apartment. It's now mine, along with everything inside of it." Freddie replied while closing the wall fridge.

"When exactly did we get here? The last while is a complete blur after the cabin." Kyle said.

"A few minutes ago. I had a weird feeling that his blood would stop your weird moment. Now we have to get back to the cabin before Pete comes looking for us... or worse, Sam. If she comes looking she won't stop until she finds us." Freddie said.

"Before we go you should probably do something about your back. It's glowing." Kyle said and Freddie looked over his shoulder to slightly see a glowing pattern on his back.

"Huh. Would you look at that." He said before turning back to Kyle.

Sometime later, after Pete had looked over Kyle and Freddie to make sure nothing bad was happening and the triskelion tattoo on Freddie's back had stopped glowing, Sam and Freddie walked into Freddie's bedroom in Marissa's apartment and Freddie locked the door, also thanking that his mother was working the graveyard shift at the hospital that night.

"I am so wiped." Freddie said as he collapsed onto his bed and Sam nodded, laying down along his back.

"You did have a lot of blood drained from your body earlier." Sam said while pressing a kiss to the back of his neck and Freddie hummed.

"That's true." He said and Sam rubbed his side.

"Hey. You should at least get changed before you go to sleep." Sam said softly and Freddie turned his head to look over at her.

"I don't wanna get up." He said and Sam sighed, getting up and off of him.

"You so owe me for this. Roll over." Sam said and Freddie did that, simply laying there while Sam removed his pants and then his top, leaving him in his underwear. Sam then removed her jeans and jacket before lying back down and pulling the rug over them.

"Now you can sleep." Sam said.

"Cuddle me until I pass out?" Freddie asked and Sam smiled, putting her arm over his waist and spooning him.

"Of course. Love you." She said and Freddie moved back into her a little more, a small smile gracing his features as he began to fall asleep.

Over at Chris's apartment, Chris and Ryan were making out on Chris's bed, Chris arm now almost fully healed, and Chris was sitting in Ryan's lap, their two bodies pulled close together as their lips moved with the other.

"We should probably… stop for a minute." Chris breathed out as Ryan began to kiss down his neck and Ryan squeezed his hips.

"Or maybe not." He said and Chris smiled, twisting his fingers into his hair.

"Ryan, seriously." He laughed and Ryan stopped, sighing into his neck and then pulling back a little.

"Sorry." Ryan said.

"I was only telling you to stop so that our shirts can come off. Can't exactly do that with you sucking my neck." Chris said and Ryan's eyes lit up with his smirk. They both then pulled their shirts off and Ryan pushed Chris down onto the bed, hovering over him and attaching his lips to his neck again.

"I've been thinking things over recently and I think… I think I'm ready. You know, for the next step." Chris said and Ryan froze.

"Say something?" Chris asked after a few seconds of silence and Ryan slowly pulled back.

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt or do anything you aren't sure of." Ryan said and Chris placed a hand on the side of his face and ran his thumb over his cheek.

"I want t-to have sex with you. I promise if I start to panic I will tell you to stop. Or I'll throw you off. I am pretty strong." Chris said and Ryan slightly smiled before his face got slightly more serious, love, passion and affection filling his eyes.

"I love you." He said.

"I love you too." Chris said and Ryan leant down to kiss him, the two moving so that their bodies were pressed together, the two kissing slowly as Ryan slid his hand down Chris's side slowly to his thigh and pulling it up to around his waist, making Chris gasp into his mouth and open his eyes to show red.

The next morning, Sam, Freddie, Chris, Carly, Ryan and Dylan went out to breakfast and everyone was almost silent, everyone but Carly having only woken up moments before heading down.

"Coffee." Dylan said happily when a waiter walked over and the waiter smiled before pouring them all some coffee, Carly watching the others amused as everyone but Chris drank their mugs, Chris instead having a hot chocolate brought over by the manager who he happened to be friends with.

"That looks so good. I wish I got one now." Dylan said when he saw it and Chris just glared at him a little.

"Mine." He said and Ryan smiled, kissing him on the neck and putting an arm around him.

"So possessive. But that does look pretty good." He said and Chris offered him his hug.

"That is so unfair." Dylan whined as Ryan took a sip.

"I'm dating him. He's allowed." Chris said, getting 'ooooooh' from everyone else.

"That is really good." Ryan said as Chris took his mug back and Chris nodded, taking a sip of it himself and then pulling his sleeves over his hands.

"Okay. Why don't I go and order some food? I'll get bacon and pancakes and a few different toppings for it." Sam said and the others all nodded.

"Remember to get enough bacon for all of us." Freddie said and Sam stuck her tongue out at him before getting up and going over to the front counter with Carly right behind her to make sure she orders right, Freddie just smiling before turning to face Chris and Ryan who were across from him as they kissed.

"Something seems different between the two of you." Freddie said after a moment and Ryan raised an eyebrow.

"We're the same as always." Chris said and Freddie frowned.

"Okay. You usually open your mouth wider when you talk." Freddie said and Dylan leant forward a little to be able to look at the both of them.

"Okay, yeah. I see something strange. Although I notice it more with Ryan." Dylan said and Chris and Ryan looked to each other, Ryan giving a small shrug at Chris's worried look.

"May as well just tell them." Ryan said and Chris's eyes flashed to Dylan for a moment before going back to Ryan.

"Tell us what?" Freddie asked sceptically and Ryan looked around him, making sure no one was looking before he turned his head so both Dylan and Freddie could see his eyes turn red for a few seconds before going normal.

"What the hell?" Dylan asked in an angry whisper at Chris and Chris curled into himself slightly.

"It was an accident." Chris whined.

"It actually was. As soon as he realised he had done it he started crying." Ryan said.

"I read something about that from my dad's stuff. If a vampire finds a mate in a human and the connection is really strong, the vampire can accidently bite the human automatically as a way to make the human feel that bond by being a vampire too. But the self-control, or lack of, only shows itself during or aft – you bit him during sex didn't you?" Freddie asked with a smirk and Chris went bright red.

"Keep your voice down." He snapped and the other three boys laughed.

"Wait. Don't people pass out when the venom is working through their body?" Dylan asked after a few moments.

"Only when their life is in danger or when the person isn't bitten by who is supposed to be their mate. If the vampire and human are mated and are having… are doing it then they'll stay awake. It's weird but that's just how it works." Chris replied and Dylan processed that as the girls walked back over.

"What'd we miss?" Sam asked as she and Carly sat and Chris glared at Freddie who went to open his mouth.

"Speak and I cut your tongue out. I'll do it." Chris said in a deep and quiet voice and Freddie's eyes widened slightly in shock a well as the others apart from Ryan.

"That's what you get for prying." Ryan simply said and Chris nodded, grabbing his hot chocolate and taking a few sips to hide the little smile on his face.


	21. Chapter 21

"What am I supposed to do? We can't force him to take the place of king. He's barely 18. How is that fair?" Chris asked Romeo from the living room in the cabin and Romeo rolled his eyes, ignoring Ryan, Dylan and Pete around them.

"He doesn't have a choice. He is the one that needs to take over the kingdom. He doesn't have any choice." Romeo said.

"Well he should. What would uncle Leonard say if he found out that you were forcing him into this? He would be pissed off. You know what he always said. 'The position needs to be wanted to be able to be done well.' If Freddie doesn't want it then it could ruin the entire kingdom and not only that but also his life. He has one of those you know, so do I and everyone else in this room." Chris said.

"His life belonged to the kingdom the moment he started showing signs of being the king. He needs to do this. It's what is right and what is tradition and we can't stray from tradition." Romeo said and Chris's eyes went red and anger filled him up.

"Screw tradition. That went out the window when you practically disowned me and took Bianca in as your own child. She shows signs of being a psychopath you know. The control issues and how when she gets angry she grabs people by the throat? That's what Nolan did in his last days alive and he had no control over his power at all." Chris said.

"Nolan was a murderer and a pathetic swine. I didn't disown you; you chose to leave with him. You ruined the name of our family. You have no idea the shame you put us through." Romeo said.

"More like you through. Leonard didn't give two damns about that. He still called me once a month to make sure I was still alive and healthy. He would have been a much better father than you." Chris snarled and Romeo glared at him, flashing his red eyes at him.

"Guys, cut it out. Growling and snarling at each other isn't going to change a single thing. We need to work this out and figure out what the best options for this are." Pete said.

"Telling Freddie that he has no choice will only backfire on you. Sam told me that he hates being put in corners and forcing him into something will make him angry. He may not have any choice but you need to tell him that delicately." Dylan said.

"So make it seem like he does have an option, convincing him in some way to take the role on without being forceful." Pete added.

"Exactly." Dylan said.

"We don't have time for that. He needs to take on the role now or the kingdom will start to fall apart. We need a proper king and he is it." Romeo said.

"Well it's the only way that will work so stop being such a control freak and use another method other than brute force for once. That doesn't always work Romeo." Chris sneered and Romeo glared at him as Ryan went over and pulled Chris back.

"Okay. You need to calm down because you are making me angry and we all know that bad things happen when I get angry." Ryan said.

"Very bad things." Dylan said and Ryan threw an annoyed look at him before looking back to Chris.

"Deep breath and relax." Ryan said calmly and Chris breathed in deep as he nodded, breathing out and then turning back to the others.

"Okay. This is what we need to do."

In town walking back to Bushwell Plaza, Carly was walking home from the Groovy Smoothie and she was passing an alleyway to the fire escape of the building before hers when an older man with short grey hair and alcohol breath stumbled out and bumped her, making her jump and scream slightly.

"I'm so sorry miss. Why, you are a pretty young thing aren't you?" He asked with a creepy smile, looking her up and down, and Carly shifted uncomfortably, pulling her coat tighter around herself and going to leave only to have her arm grabbed.

"Let me go." She said, her voice shaking in panic, and the man stepped right up close so she could feel his breath on her neck.

"Where are your manners miss? I just complimented you. You should be thankful." He said darkly and Carly whimpered.

"Please. Let me go. I want to go home." She said and the guy smiled creepily again.

"You won't want to when I'm done with you." He said before tugging her arm harshly towards the alley and making her gasp, the words taking a moment to sink in before Carly screamed as loud as she could only to have a hand clamped to her mouth and her body dragged deeper into the alley.

"That wasn't very nice now was it?" The man growled as he shoved her against the wall and Carly tried to push him away, tears filling her eyes.

"Let me go." She screamed but the guy just held her there with all of his force.

"Let's see what's under this coat." The man snarled and Carly sobbed once. Before he could even touch her though, in a quick movement, the man was ripped away from Carly and Carly was pulled away as she screamed into Spencer's arms.

"Spencer?" Carly asked and Spencer nodded, going to speak when a loud snarl filled the air and they turned their attention to Freddie who was standing over the man with his back to them.

"What are you going to do to me? You're just a kid." The man laughed and Freddie let his red eyes show and the man's smile fall.

"I'm going to make you regret ever touching my friend." Freddie growled, his fangs extending as he swiftly knelt down and sunk his teeth into the man's neck.

Instead of drinking his blood however, Freddie tore the man's neck open and then, standing up slightly to get more room, Freddie pulled his right arm back only to punch down into the man's chest. Only it went right through, Carly and Spencer only being able to watch in pure horror.

"No one gets away with touching my family." Freddie whispered to the now dead man before he ripped his arm out of his chest and brought his heart out with it.

"Did you – I just – I think I'm gonna be sick." Carly said before turning and spewing all over the ground by the dumpster, Spencer simply staring at Freddie as he dropped the heart and took deep, calming breaths.

"I guess it's time to explain." He said before turning around and making Carly scream at his blood covered face and glowing red eyes.

"So Carly may never speak to him again but she was pretty glad that he did that for her. She was just freaked out about the heart being ripped out and also that her sense of reality was torn apart." Dylan told Ryan, Chris, Jasper, Pete, Cassie and Michael in the cabin a few hours later and Cassie sighed.

"This is getting out of hand. More and more people are finding out about vampires and how will a heart being ripped right out of somebodies chest be explained to anyone?" Cassie asked.

"Something will be figured out. Right now we have a more pressing matter like telling Freddie that he has no choice but to take on the role as king." Pete said.

"Oh. You didn't hear? Freddie's father left Freddie a bunch of letters explaining everything. Freddie is planning to ask Romeo to take him to the kingdom tomorrow." Jasper said and the others all looked at him.

"When did you find that out?" Cassie asked.

"The other night. Freddie took John, Kyle and I to his Leonard's old apartment. Showed us all of these documents and things about how Leonard told him that when the time came Freddie needed to step up and be king and that he needed to know that he didn't have much of a choice. Leonard said that Freddie should still be able to live a normal life as well if he wanted but he would have to remember that he had to focus on his duties and not forget about the people that will look up to him." Jasper said.

"Why didn't Freddie tell us anything?" Cassie asked.

"Because he knew that you would probably try and get him to change his mind. He said that he knows what you're like and that he doesn't want anyone to try and interfere with his decision." Jasper said.

"So he really wants to be king? He does know that it's a hard job. He has to think about everyone in the kingdom, and I mean the entire kingdom. He'll hear and see things from others that no one should ever have to see our hear and he will have to rule thousands of people and make sure they stay in line and don't expose vampires and that they aren't breaking laws and not only that but he'll have to deal with my father on a regular basis." Chris said.

"He would know that. He would know about the price he would end up paying when he takes on the role." Pete said.

"His father left him some stuff to help him, say, guide him for his first few years. Something that will make his job run a bit smoother while he's still learning and figuring out the ropes." Jasper said.

"What, like a list of some kind?" Dylan asked.

"Something like that." Jasper replied and Michael gave him a look but said nothing.

"All we can do now is wait." Pete said and everyone all fell silent at the weight that those words held.

It was two days later when Freddie finally had the courage to go to the cabin and when he got there, Pete, Cassie, Danny, Millie, Gabe, Dylan, Ryan, Chris, Jasper, John, Kyle, Jessica, Amber, Chelsea, Michael and Sam were waiting with Romeo, Chris and Romeo standing as far apart as the room would allow them to.

"This is a big turn out." Freddie said and Sam nodded.

"We all know why you came here so we wanted to show moral support. Or at least your friends did. The ass in the corner doesn't really care about love and support." Sam said.

"I'd watch your mouth." Romeo snipped.

"And I'd watch yours or I'll rip your heart out too." Freddie snapped and Romeo went quiet, Chris grinning wildly as some of the others giggled.

"So, you've decided that you will be king." Romeo said after a minute and Freddie nodded.

"I have. But if I really am to take on this role then I will make a few changes that will suit not only me but the others around us. After all, the people should have a right to do things as well." Freddie said and Romeo stood straighter, his facial features hardening.

"And what are these changes?" Romeo asked.

"First of all, I want to still be able to live a somewhat normal human life like go to college and get a degree. I will stay close by but that is my first change. The second is that the people in the kingdom, if they agree to certain rules and expectations written up, will be allowed to mix in with the human world and go to school and get jobs. However, if they break any rule that is put forth then they are to stay in the kingdom until they can be trusted to go back out." Freddie said and Romeo nodded stiffly.

"Anything else?" He asked through his teeth and, after looking to Kyle with a small nod, Freddie smiled and then allowed his power to turn on, the tattoo glowing silver through his shirt and an intricate pattern appearing down his arms to his hands.

"I get to choose who is my head in command. And you certainly are not it."

Going outside sometime after Romeo had left and a small party had been put on, Danny, Chelsea, Michael and Cassie were standing near the trees and the four were discussing Chelsea and Michael's baby.

"I can't believe you got married to the guy who saved my life's fiancé's brother. Like what are the chances of that?" Danny asked and Chelsea shrugged.

"One in a million. Honestly though, I had no idea that when I met him that he would lead me back to you. I did try and keep tabs on you for a while but then one day you just disappeared and I couldn't find you anywhere. And then I found out from Michael that he found you again and I knew what had happened so I made a plan to just show up. Good thing for Freddie going mental at the museum." Chelsea said and Cassie smiled while putting an arm around Danny's shoulders.

"Well, I'm glad that he found you again. At least now he doesn't have to wonder forever what happened to you." She said and Chelsea nodded as Danny's phone went off.

"Why is Andy calling you? And why do you even have his number?" Cassie asked when she saw who it was and Danny gave her a look as he answered.

"What's up?" He asked, frowning when he heard Andy breathing loudly.

"I didn't know who else to call but I figured since your father was involved it should be you first." Andy said and Danny pulled away from Cassie.

"What do you mean my father was involved?" He asked and the other three listened in.

"I ran into him and he was super mad. We got into an argument about him accusing me of knowing where you were when something really weird happened and this thing just jumped out of the shadows and attacked us. I managed to get away but I don't know about your father. I turned back to go and help but by the time I got back to where it happened all that was there was his blood." Andy replied and Danny looked to Chelsea who just shrugged, a worried and confused look on her face.

"Okay. Tell the police and tell them exactly what you saw. Tell them that you don't know where I am but that you thought you saw a glimpse of me walking past your house a few days ago. Don't go looking for him." Danny said before hanging up.

"What happened?" Michael asked.

"I think a vampire just took my dad." Danny replied and Chelsea, Cassie and Michael looked at each other as Danny looked down to his phone.

Later that night, after the party had died down and everyone had gone home, Chris and Ryan arrived at Chris's place and had just walked into the living room laughing only to freeze dead at the sight of Bianca standing over none other than Danny's now dead father, her dress and face covered in blood and her eyes glowing dark red.

"What the hell?" Chris yelled in shock and Bianca looked down to Wyatt's body and back up at Chris.

"I couldn't help myself. He looked so good and I was so hungry." Bianca said and Chris and Ryan stared at her in horror.


End file.
